Intertwined Chains
by Noir Illumina
Summary: The Chain of Fate; it binds a person to this world. Life strengthens it, death severs it; fates are united and chains intertwined. /OC-Centric - On Hiatus, depending on whether I have the mood to rewrite this. :/ Leave reviews if I should continue with it
1. Prologue

Chapter 1: Prologue

The sun was glaring. Not being too nonplussed about it, I continued my walk across the fields surrounding a nearby town.

Wandering was something I did. There was nothing else to do… after being killed by some kind of spirit, I lost all sense of purpose. Death was, after all, a kind of release.

Leaving behind no regrets, I began my travels, to look for someone. Of course, I did enjoy the sights once in a while. There was no need to pay for accommodation, travel fees or anything, now that I was dead. I was kinda similar to a freeloading tourist. The only problem I had was that I was constantly hungry, and food for the living can't be eaten by spirits, no matter what they say about the Hungry Ghost Festival.

One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four steps. Rinse and repeat.

That was all I knew to do. Keep walking forward until I find what I'm searching for…that's what the first person I met, some guy in a business suit, told me when I came to. I took his advice. After all, they made sense.

My stomach churned as I once again felt the effects of hunger. Man, this lack of food really sucks. Well, since I couldn't do anything about that, I walked toward the direction where I'd always felt a pull towards to. It seemed like it was brimming with spirits; some felt black, some felt white, and some red. And it looked like the place to go.

I stopped short when I noticed something in the distance. Somewhere towards the left, there stood a lone signboard, looking tattered and weather-beaten. Interested, I disrupted my journey to the source of attraction and detoured over to the signboard. The sun was intensely bright and seemed to be trying its best to prevent me from reading the wordings on the signboard. I ended up having to shield my eyes from its glare using my hands and managed to steal a glance at the signboard.

Karakura Town. 8 miles.

What was interesting was that it pointed directly at the source of the pull. Without another moment's delay I continued my walk down the direction of the signboard, this time having a destination in mind.

Hopefully, Karakura would be as good as it appears to be.

* * *

Reaching Karakura town by nightfall, I decided to take a break in a back alley near a run-down looking shop. On the way, I observed the area of Karakura Town. It seemed rich in something, from what I could tell from the air, but somehow I couldn't quite place what it was. There was the central business district or CBD, a school, a river nearby the school, and five main residential areas. My particular back alley was situated right in between the residential areas, which was, by no coincidence, I'm sure, in the shape of a pentagon.

And where I was, the centre of the town, was exactly where the attraction originated from. Well, nearby, actually. The shop was the source.

The Urahara Shop. Or at least, that's what I think it says. It's kinda hard to see in the dark, as the streetlights seemed to be extremely dim tonight. Well, whatever, I think I'm going to get some shuteye…

And that's when I heard a cry. It was one of the masked spirits, one of those that killed me. A part of me wanted to run in fear, fleeing the area. Although that would've been the smartest and easiest way out, I was more concerned for the well-being of the living nearby.

I've dealt with spirits like these before, albeit with extreme difficulty. The one which ended my life was the first. The one that came right after was another. Both were destroyed with a punch to their mask, but immediately after that, I became hungry.

…You know what? I can't starve to _death_, so I'll just go and help out. A red spirit along with a white one with traces of red were moving towards the black, so I'll probably just do what I can when I get there.

* * *

By the time I arrived, some punk with bright orange hair already had a huge sword down the spirit's middle, cleaving it into half with practised ease. Its blade was straight and perhaps it might've been a trick of the light, but it was emanating a soft, white glow from its crossguard. He sheathed the sword into the cover on his back and turned to his companion, who was a midget of a girl with raven locks and a determined face.

"Oi, Rukia, is that all there is for now?"carrot-top asked, sounding bored. He had a gruff voice, befitting of his size (about 6 feet tall, muscular) and stature. He was wearing a black kosode and hakama and his companion seemed to be human…with traces of red in her spirit.

"Yeah," the midget replied after checking her cell phone.

"So since there aren't any more Hollows, can I go to sleep now?" he yawned, sounding sleepy.

So apparently the masked spirits were called Hollows. Actually, it kinda makes sense. They're supposed to be empty on the inside, so they require a mask for a face.

"You idiot! You for got about the konso!" she yelled, pointing at the guy next to me, who seemed terrified of carrot-top, or more likely, his sword.

"Right," he said in a dejected voice," Let's do this…"

He unsheathed his sword again and grabbed his target, gently pressing the pommel of the weapon onto his forehead. The terrified man glowed and soon disappeared into thin air, leaving behind remnants of light.

"Ichigo, you idiot! You're supposed to console before you konso!" she reprimanded him rather harshly.

"Would you shut up, midget? It's almost midnight and I need my sleep! Don't expect me to get anything right for the first hour after you wake me up!" he shouted back. He then turned to me, and assumed his most 'caring' expression, a scowl.

"What's _your_ beef?" Way to go, carrot-top. It's supposed to be a 'console', not a meat market.

"Nothing. I was just trying to get some sleep when I heard the Hollow cry out." I replied with a bored expression on my face.

"Not that. What's holding you back from the afterlife?" He asked, annoyed.

"Nothing." There was something, but I didn't feel like telling him. He didn't seem like someone I could trust.

The girl named Rukia looked up from her cell phone and glanced at me. Her eyes narrowed when she saw my chest chain. It's shorter than most, so I guessed that it gave her some concern. Its length was actually half of what it was yesterday, so something must've happened.

"His soul chain is dangerously short, Ichigo. Skip the console this one time and deliver him into the Soul Society." She remarked quietly.

The seriousness of her voice immediately alerted him that her request was urgent. He nodded with a solemn face and raised his sword, his target my forehead this time.

"Glad to oblige."

He pressed the pommel of his sword to my forehead and I suddenly felt unburdened. Every single weight I had to carry before this was gone in the blink of an eye. There was a momentary elation as I began to disappear, starting from my feet. I looked at the girl, who gave a reassuring nod, before wondering why I hadn't done this before.

I remembered. The reason why I chose to stay when given a choice between the afterlife and the world of the living. I needed to find two people, to tell them about what happened. One was Hiyori, a friend I knew since I was a child, and...

I looked once again at the pair as my neck disappeared. They were smiling faintly.

Damn them.

I found Hiyori, but I still needed to find the other.

My other.

My twin sister.

_Kairi._

And look at them, smiling like a couple of idiots. Damn them.

As darkness came over me, it seemed that I was travelling through a warped tunnel. Damn those two.

I began to fade… my mind longing to give in to the lull of sleep. But Kairi….

Damn it. DAMN IT ALL!

_I'm not going just yet!_

**_THEN DON'T._**

I rematerialized and glared at the offending pair, who stood with stupefied expressions on their faces. I was about to say something when I heard a loud, yet subtle clanking sound coming from below me.

I started to look down when I was interrupted by an intense pain where my heart was supposed to be. It hurt like hell…like something was eating its way in. The excruciating pain unwired my mind and I found myself unable to think for a period of time. Moments of the torture passed, and the world turned white.

* * *

A/N: Hey, this is my first fanfic ever. I'm not exactly great at writing stories, but I'm going to try anyway. Reviews would be extremely appreciated. Don't worry, the story becomes juicier after this!

For those who haven't noticed, this takes place when Ichigo is still an unofficial Substitute Shinigami, before the Rescue Arc.


	2. The Pen is Mightier

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OC thus far.

* * *

Chapter 2

_Wake up_.

Wha-?

_Wake up, you fool!_

I opened my eyes, and I saw clouds in the bright, yet sunless sky. Did I really sleep till past noon?

"You're finally up. Took you long enough." The voice said. Now that I was thinking clearly, I could distinguish it as a female voice. I turned my head to the side and saw a beautiful elf-like creature with long, silky blue hair, blue wings and pale skin. She was tall, taller than I was and clothed in a white yukata with intricately designed with images of birds. Her large eyes were a deep violet hue, complementing her hair perfectly. Somehow, I felt like I knew her from somewhere.

I sat up, and realised that my body felt seemingly weightless. Looking around, I discovered something that I would've preferred to be kept in the dark from.

I was sitting on air.

Half expecting to fall, I got onto my feet, albeit slowly. I was trembling visibly. Don't blame me, blame my acrophobia.

I turned to the woman who was smiling faintly, amused by my fear. Still feeling a little unsteady, I asked her a simple question.

"Where the hell are we?" Crap, even my voice was quivering.

"Now don't be so rude. Instead of 'where the hell', you could just have used 'where', you know." she chided, looking arrogant. "Anyway, to answer your question, we're in your mind, of course. Where else would I be?" she stated.

Geez, talk about touchy.

"So who are you?" I asked. "Wait, the proper question would be '_What_ are you?"

"How rude." She sighed. Silence was all I heard the next time she spoke.

"I beg your pardon?"

She then shook her head. "Apparently, you still can't process my name. Does your soul not accept it? I wonder…." She looked deep in thought. Her head snapped up after a moment and she spoke.

"Anyway, enough of this fooling around. You need to start moving. Your mind is collapsing and if you don't stop it, you're going to become a Hollow."

My eyes widened at her implications. Become a hollow? What does she mean?

She read my expression perfectly and replied, "No time. Just hurry. Find the sword."

And with that, a few million crates, all of them a pristine white, dropped from above. At the exact same time, I started falling, plunging headfirst into the depths below.

How the hell am I supposed to find the crate with a sword among a few million crates? Scratch that, how am I even supposed to open a crate when I was falling?

* * *

This place seemed to be clouds, clouds, and more clouds. I couldn't even catch a glimpse of land, and I'd been falling for more than a few minutes.

Suddenly, the space directly below me opened up, and I was thrust directly into a void, all the crates following soon after.

In here, I felt choked, as if I was trapped in space. The black void prevented me from breathing, and I desperately fumbled around in the darkness to open crate after crate. Each crate contained a different item. I found a watch, three books, an empty bottle but no sword.

_Think carefully, Shiro._

It was the elf's voice.

How the hell am I supposed to think carefully? I can't even breathe to begin with.

_I'm not supposed to do this, but let me give you a hint. Try to distinguish the colours._

Colours, colours…

Wait, if this is my mind, then that means this is also my soul. Now, if the black void is the representation of the black spirits, or Hollows, the white crates the representation of white spirits, or humans, the sword has to be the red spirit. If I recall correctly, the punk with the huge sword was a red spirit…

I closed my eyes and scanned around for something red. There were no results, however. Feeling hopelessness and despair, I decided that it was an impossible task, and my world turned completely black.

_Kairi… I'm sorry._

_

* * *

_

I saw the carrot-top again, but somehow, I didn't feel like me. His sword was raised, poised to strike.

I heard an eerie, high-pitched laughter, and with horror I realised that it originated from my body. I felt pain pressing in from all sides, and yet, my body wasn't under my control. A white substance seemed to be leaking out from my face and forming a mask. Was I becoming a Hollow?

Hell no. I will NOT allow this to happen!

**"Too late, King. I am thou, and thou art I. But now, I have complete control."**

My body jumped forward with astounding speed and kicked carrot-top with incredible power, more than I would've been able to muster. He flew straight into a nearby building and there was a massive crater as his body slid down the wall. There was blood flowing out from where I kicked him, and I was sure he was unconscious.

From the corner of my eye, I saw his sword hurtling across the air. My body automatically leaped high into the air, caught it and threw it at the human whom was with carrot-top. Damn it, that girl better be able to defend herself.

"Bakudō number eight, Seki!" the girl yelled.

A small ball of glowing energy appeared above her hand, and she used it to strike the incoming sword, which was knocked to the side. That was good. I didn't want her getting hurt.

At this point, half of the vision of my right eye was already obscured by the mask. Without wasting any more time, I decided to fight for the control of my body.

* * *

The moment I made my decision, I was immediately warped back into the black nothingness. This time, however, I had absolutely no problems with breathing.

**"Must you be so persistent? I already told you, King, that it's just too late." **He said in a mocking tone. He looked exactly like me, only black-and-white. The creepiest feature however, was his eyes. The eye whites were completely replaced by eye blacks, and the pupils were a disturbing yellow. So, that's my Hollow self.

"Liar. If it was too late, I wouldn't be back here now, would I? I replied.

**"Tch." **Was the only response I got.

I'm guessing that my assumption was right. Well, here goes. Time to bring the house down.

"How are we going to settle this?"

"**We fight.**" He then materialised a sword from thin air, and jumped toward me.

"How the hell am I supposed to fight back?! I don't have a sword, you moron!" I protested as I dodged his attacks.

"**Not my problem.**" He said, continuing the onslaught of slashes, thrusts and strikes.

"It's not fair. Can't we settle this by playing tiddlywinks? I'm pretty good at _that_." Whew, close one there, almost got cut into half.

I continued to dodge his attacks and resumed giving him a plethora of ridiculous suggestions. With each one his brow began to twitch more and more. Finally, he lost it. He lowered his weapon.

"**Fine! Just shut up. I'll go with the arm wrestling one.**" He admitted defeat. It's a good thing I knew how to be annoying, or I'd probably be evading that sword for the rest of my life.

A white table appeared between us, along with two chairs at equal heights. Taking my seat on one side, my Hollow took the other, his sword disintegrating into the air in the same fashion it appeared.

I took his hand and quickly counted down.

"Three, two…"

"**One.**" I started employing force against his hand, as he did the same. Quite some time passed, and I realised that neither of us had budged even a little bit.

I mentally face palmed. Of course there wouldn't be a difference. He is I and I am he, so that means we have the same physical strength.

He seemed to realise the same thing, so we both nodded and let go.

"**Since that didn't work…**" He held out his hand, and I had a feeling he was about to re-summon his sword.

I quickly threw out a scissors sign.

"Scissors beats paper. I win. Give me back my body now."

His eyes hardened at my words and they seemed intent to kill. However, as one of the suggestions I threw at him earlier was rock-paper-scissors, he had no choice but to accept the loss.

"**It's not over, King.**" He seemed to disintegrate slowly, the broken pieces forming a light in the darkness. The light soon spread across my world.

If you can't win by might, use your wits. The pen is mightier than the sword.

I was then pulled away from my mind and thrust back into the real world.

I was standing over the body of the human girl, who had been knocked unconscious. I held the carrot-top's sword in my hands and judging from the scenario, I was about to take her life.

The mask had stopped forming just in time to avoid my left eye from being covered. But enough of this nonsense. This ends now.

_Break._

It shattered into smaller pieces and fell to the ground.

I heard a slow clapping coming from behind me and whirled around, only to find a man wearing a dark green coat and undershirt, matching long pants and a green and white striped hat. He had medium-length light blonde hair and was carrying a cane.

"Congratulations. It seems you've avoided becoming a Hollow. So tell me, how'd you do it?"

"I don't know." I replied. I tried to change the subject. "You're not an ordinary human, are you?"

"Kisuke Urahara, at your service. I'm merely an honest, handsome and perverted businessman who owns a shop nearby." He answered, sidestepping my question. His eyes narrowed slightly then. "Your turn. Who are you?"

"Shiro Aragaki." His eyes betrayed a hint of surprise at my name, but it was gone in a moment.

"Well then, Shiro, isn't it time you moved on into the afterlife? You might find what you're looking for there, you know."

What the hell? How'd he know I was searching for something to begin with?

"Let's just say an acquaintance of mine told me about you." He explained, reading my reaction correctly. "I was told to say that." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "She wants to remain…anonymous, one would say."

"Will I be able to come back?" I pushed forward the crucial question.

"It depends on circumstances."

Well, it's worth a shot. If there's a possibility of coming back, then there's nothing wrong with expanding my search range.

"Fine, I'll go."

He blew a kazoo before putting it away. Wait, where'd he get that from anyway?

He turned back to me, a smile plastered on his face.

"Good for you. If you're ready, you can go now…" He reversed his cane so that the curved end was pointed towards me, and I nodded in response.

I just realised something. My chest chain, or as the midget said, soul chain, wasn't there anymore. There wasn't a hole there either, like the hollows have. And I wasn't hungry anymore, either. Well, questions later, konso now.

He pressed the end of the cane to my head, and I experienced the whole unburdening feeling for the second time.

This time, I didn't fight it.

* * *

A/N: Whoo! So the main character's name is Shiro Aragaki.

I intend to pace this story abit unevenly, depending on the events that take place. As most of you can probably tell, the OC went through Hollowfication without attaining his Zanpakuto. He tricked his Inner Hollow quite well, I would say.

Frankly speaking, I still have a long way to go before I become as good as I want to be, so please be patient and stick around. Reviews, again, would be extremely appreciated. =D


	3. Enter the Soul Society

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OC thus far.

* * *

Chapter 3

My vision was a total blur. Seeing purple all around me, I was flying effortlessly with intense speed through a seemingly one-way tunnel. I didn't know which was worst, the fact that my head felt like bursting, the freaking cold wind (I am seriously gonna get a windburn), or the gigantic bullet train thingy that was chasing me.

I thought there was supposed to be _peace_ in the afterlife, not some high-speed chase movie.

Looking ahead, there was a bright light that was shining like a glimmer of hope. Only, it seemed much further away than it looked. Somehow, I didn't seem to bridge the gap between the light and I. It looked like I was flying on the spot, with the bullet train revving up its engine behind me.

To kill time, I tried to imagine what the afterlife would be like. Would there be clouds and angels with halos and harps like depicted in the movies? Or would it be a giant mansion with-

The wind intensified. Finally, it seemed like I was making progress towards the light. Unlike before, I was no longer stalling in one place, but moving forward.

As I arrived right before the light, I suddenly accelerated, increasing my already incredible velocity. I closed my eyes as pierced through the light, the cold wind becoming warm. After a moment, my eyesight recovered and I opened my eyes.

* * *

I was greeted with the breathtaking sight of blue skies and a quaint village. It would have been a pleasant view, if it wasn't for the fact that I was plummeting towards the ground with full speed.

There was one thing I didn't notice earlier. Dust.

Lots and lots of dust. I had impacted the ground with insane amounts of momentum, leading me to wonder how the hell my back was still intact. Unfortunately, this also meant that there was a dust cloud from my landing, rendering me temporarily blinded.

From all around, I heard the buzz of people talking around me. It seemed like a crowd had gathered due to my spectacular entrance.

As I stood up, the dust cloud cleared, and I saw that the people immediately around me seemed to have difficulty breathing. Wondering why, I pointed at a random victim and asked the others what was happening.

"The reiatsu is choking them." An elderly man at the back said. The others seemed a bit wary of me, so I jumped out of the circle of people and landed lightly on my feet.

What the hell? Did I just jump fifteen feet into the air?

Before I could make any guesses regarding my unbelievable leap, two people dressed like the carrot-top, minus the sleeves, appeared out of nowhere. They both carried swords at their waist. The crowd parted for them as they walked up to me side by side.

"What's going on here?" The lean one on the left said. He had spiky black hair and a '69' tattoo on the left side of his face. There was an insignia tied on his left arm with the number 9 inscribed on it. Three parallel scars ran down the right side of his face, and a blue tattoo was present under his left eye to the bridge of his nose.

So I'm guessing that these people had some power here in the afterlife. From the way the crowd was acting, the one who just spoke was of higher ranking than his partner.

"Before anything else happens, may I ask where I am?" I asked. Politeness gets you far in situations like these.

_Glad to see you're finally learning._ A familiar voice said. Ah, the elf-lady, if I recognize it correctly.

"We're in the 1st Western Rukon District of the Soul Society." The much larger counterpart on the right informed. He had a very forgettable face, but he had the most marvellous moustache.

"Thank you," I nodded to moustache. I turned to 69. "To answer your question, I just got konso-ed and I appeared here."

"Oh really? People who are brought here through konso do not appear from the sky nor do crash land pathetically like you did." Moustache remarked before 69 could reply.

"I dunno. Some man with a cane konso-ed me. That's all I know." I turned back to 69. "You seem to be superior to him, so I'll ask-"

"Now wait just a minute." Moustache said. He started walking towards me as he spoke.

"Lieutenant, I think that-" he stopped short as he got within close proximity of me. "What the hell?!" He exclaimed as his knees buckled by some unknown force. His lieutenant started frowning as he walked toward me.

"That's what you get for underestimating people, Umesada." He remarked and continued on his path. When he got within the same distance as his subordinate, his eyes widened in shock and he started sweating profusely.

"Bloody hell." He muttered. He then turned toward me and said, "Control your reiatsu."

My reiatsu? So the old man was referring to me?

Honestly, I wanted to control it. It's not very fun to make people unable to breathe just by being near them. The only problem was I didn't know how.

_I'll help you. Imagine a circle._

I did.

_No, not a transparent circle. A black one that's completely filled. _She paused and considered something._ Make it smaller, too._

I corrected the image in my mind.

_Good. Now, imagine yourself pressing the ball into your chest._

I followed her instruction and when the last step was complete, I felt an immense power coursing through my veins.

_You have just redirected all of your excess reiatsu into your body. What I have just taught you is a simple imaging technique that allows you to channel the majority of your reiatsu effectively._

So does this mean that I can use it to attack people or something?

_Well, you can. The power of the mind works very differently here in the Soul Society._

Thanks, elf-lady. I turned back to the pair, who seemed to have recovered from the effects of my reiatsu.

"Sorry 'bout that, I'm kinda new to this thing, so I haven't the faintest idea where to start…"

"It's alright. Now, as we can see that there isn't any ryoka trouble, we'll be taking our leave." The lietenant announced.

"But lieutenant-" Umesada protested. I think he was looking for a fight.

"You have already proven yourself weak today, Umesada. You should be grateful that you were even promoted to the 20th seat." He said with a frown. Man, this guy seems to have only one expression.

He turned back to me.

"As I was saying earlier before I was so rudely interrupted, we will be leaving." His tone sounded final. He disappeared in a flash, only to reappear on the other end of the road. While waiting for the other man, he took out a piece of paper and started writing.

What can I say? I was impressed.

"Hey, wait for me!" Umesada called out, as he attempted the same move that Lieutenant 69 did. The difference was that he took six times as long before reaching his superior. I turned around and started walking in the opposite direction, not wanting to cause any more trouble.

Suddenly, I felt that something was off. Hearing a flapping sound from behind me, I swung around and noticed that a kunai with a note attached had been thrown directly at my face with a note attached to it. I caught it by the handle- it appeared that my reflexes had greatly improved since I entered this world- and removed the note from the blade.

_**Nice catch. There's an entrance exam for the Shinigami Academy in two days**_

_**time. Be there. I'll put a recommendation for you, at least, how you look like. Good **_

_**luck.**_

_** ~69~**_

Bastard. Couldn't he just have told me earlier instead of throwing weapons? What if I was too slow to catch it? I would've lost an eye!

But back to the note. So there's going to be an entrance exam the day after tomorrow, huh? I wonder if I could make it in...

What does the Shinigami Academy teach, anyway? And more importantly, what are the exams based upon?

…You know what? I think I've just received an invitation to kick some ass, and I'm gonna accept it.

The problem was, where the hell was the entrance exam going to be being held?

_Watch your language._

I groaned inwardly. What in the world have I gotten myself into?

* * *

A/N: Yo, another update. Somehow, this chapter felt a little jumpy and rough, but I couldn't think of ways to improve it any further.

So he was greeted by Hisagi in the upon entrance. And I've hinted a little at his spirit energy. Come on, what's an awesome story if the main character's weak?

And, as usual, reviews would be extremely appreciated.


	4. Trial Preparations: Hoho

To answer the reviews thus far, don't worry. My character is nothing close to being God-mode or overpowered. Thanks for the reviews =D

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I do, however, own the OC thus far.

**

* * *

Chapter 4**

I had been walking around gathering information about the Shinigami Academy and topics related to it for the past hour. From what I've gathered thus far, the Shinigami Academy's proper name was the Spiritual Arts Academy, where souls in the afterlife trained to become Shinigami (who would've guessed?), part of the Kido Corps (elite spell casters), or the Stealth Force . It was located in the Seireitei, which was at the centre of the Soul Society. It was approximately half a day's walk from my current location.

The only thing that I was interested in was becoming a Shinigami. They were regulators of the universe, protectors of human lives, and slayers of hollows. A majority of Shinigami carried zanpakuto, a sentient weapon which was actually a part of their souls.

_That's me._

I was startled by the revelation. So the elf-lady was my zanpakuto?

_Yes, I am. However, until you hear my name, you cannot call upon me nor my powers._

So why don't you tell me your name?

_I've been trying to. You just seem to be deaf._

I am not!

_Do you remember the time when I spoke, and you heard nothing? I relayed to you my name, and yet you could not hear it. I've been doing some guesswork about it, but so far, I have nothing substantial._

Let's hear a few of those guesses, lady. Maybe I could help you figure it out.

_It's worth a shot._

As I continued along the road leading to the academy, I heard a few theories from her. To be honest, some of them were utterly ridiculous.

As in, come on. I haven't eaten enough lollipops?

_That is a completely rational theory!_

Whoa, calm down, lady!

* * *

Having travelled for about three hours, I decided to find for a place to spend the night. Although I seemed to have gained much more endurance after entering the Soul Society, it seemed unnatural not to sleep.

_Instead of sleeping, why don't you train for the upcoming trials?_

I would, but I don't even know what they're testing to begin with. Any ideas?

_Yes. Firstly, they have Zanjutsu, which is the Art of Swordfighting. The second is Kido, the Spiritual Spells. After that is Hoho, which is basically Movement Techniques. Finally, there is Hakuda, Hand-to-Hand Combat. As of now, Zanjutsu and Hakuda are out, as you do not have an opponent. However, if we find an isolated area, I will teach you about Hoho and Kido._

Fine by me. Any ideas where to go?

_There's a lakeside nearby, I can feel it. Adjust your angle by 70 degrees and keep walking._

Gotcha.

Following her directions, I travelled for another half an hour, trekking through a small forest and I eventually reached an opening leading to…

Another forest path. I face palmed.

_Be patient. We're almost there._

Yeah, sure lady, but that's what you said fifteen minutes ago.

_Turn left, here._

I did, and was rewarded with faint crashing sound of a waterfall. Following the sound, I walked down a path that seemed to have been used a long time ago. With the overgrowth of plants, I pushed away branch after bough after branch while maintaining a steady rhythm with my feet. After another five minutes, I swept aside a final branch only to be greeted with a breathtaking sight.

* * *

The waterfall fell upon the rocks at one end of the lake, while the other end was calm, with slight movement from the gentle breeze. Above it danced a few thousand fireflies, their ends aglow with a luminescent purple which lighted up the clearing naturally. The calm end reflected the light of the crescent moon perfectly, while the waterfall echoed with the sounds of life.

_Finally. I told you I knew the way._

Yeah, yeah.

I walked over to the edge of the lake, and saw myself in the reflection. My looks had changed drastically since I entered the Soul Society. My medium-length hair, which was raven black before, was now a light shade of blue. There were two red stripes across my left cheek that weren't there before, and I now had the body of a fifteen year old, although I was seventeen on my deathday.

I appraised myself closely in the reflection. Spiking the top of my hair a little to the left, and the fringe just above my left eye, I created an image that I liked. Another change that I noticed was that my eyes were now a startling shade of violet-red.

_Vanity, much._

Must've gotten it from you.

_Actually, I am a part of you. Therefore, it is truly you who are vain, not I._

Whatever floats your boat, lady. Now let's get started with the training.

_If you wish. We should start with Hoho, as it would help you to travel between places much quicker. Move back a little and make sure you're facing land, and not water._

Okay.

_Imagine a straight line._

I did as she instructed. It seemed like she was gonna teach me another imaging technique.

_Okay, now imagine your feet slightly over it, not touching, but close. Good. Now fold the straight line under your feet, in as many layers as you can._

I tried to take a shortcut and moved my feet towards the line instead.

_No, don't move your feet! Keep your feet where it is. Just move the line._

I did so, and felt my a strange, cooling sensation under my feet.

_Good job. You have successfully channelled reishi to the balls of your feet. This is the most basic hoho technique. You can now walk on air with the reishi solidification._

Interesting. I decided to take a step into the air. Surprisingly, as soon as I imagined it, there was an invisible step which supported my feet. This reminded me of something very similar. I decided to ask the elf-lady a question.

Does this concept have anything to do with my mind place?

_No. Your mind is as such because of your soul. One's mind is a metaphor of one's personality. Some people have forests, some have caves, and some even have gigantic skyscrapers that can change the pull of gravity. However, it is not uncommon for the mind to change, as a person's character and way of thinking is subject to change._

Okay… but why are the examples so random?

_The orange haired Shinigami whom you met before had the last one as his mind space. The lieutenant of squad nine had a breezy cliff. The man with the hat, however, had blocked all access to his mind._

You mean Kisuke Urahara? And how do you know all this anyway?

_We zanpakuto do greet each other when we meet you know, be it whether we are physically present or not. However, Benihime, the zanpakuto of hat-man, seems to have a shield that protected her owner from most mental intrusions. Only the strongest of them can break through the barrier._

Okay. So do you have a shield?

_No, but I have something better. However, I cannot tell you anything more until you learn my name, at the very least. Now let's get back to training._

Alright then. So what do I do next?

_Gather the reishi behind your feet to the back of your sole and propel yourself forward by colliding your own reiatsu against it. Once you get used to the technique, you will not require imaging any more._

Bingo. Once more, I did as she said and found myself moving forward with incredible speed, not unlike the two men earlier. For a moment, I felt like I was flying.

Until I landed face first in the mud.

Elf-lady started laughing her head off in my mind.

_You forgot to balance the reaction from the front with the surrounding reishi._ She said in between bouts of laughter.

You didn't tell me to do that!

_I thought it was obvious._

To you, probably. I'm still new so I need to be taught, dammit!

_Okay, okay. Let's try it again, from the top. Don't forget the balancing this time._

Great. Just great.

* * *

A/N: So now his appearance is revealed. I'd been planning this chapter for quite some time now. =D

For those who have reviewed, thanks! And as usual, reviews would be extremely appreciated!


	5. Trial Preparations: Kido

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OC thus far.

* * *

Chapter 5

I sat down, exhausted and hungry under a cherry blossom tree. For the last few hours, I was forced to repeatedly practice the Hoho that elf-lady thought me, which was called shunpo. After the first failed attempt, I fell into the mud a few more times, getting my clothes all dirty. Given a few more tries, I managed to shunpo without falling over.

However, I had no time to congratulate myself, for what came after that was training from hell. I was to shunpo non-stop twenty times back and forth, and if I fell over or stopped I had to restart from the beginning. Although it was extremely tiring, having fallen about fifteen times, I had to admit that the results were excellent. I had doubled the range of my shunpo, and I could finally do it without imaging.

_Go find something to eat. It is nearly dawn._

I did a double take. Dawn already? I looked towards the sky, and true enough, there was an orange tint in the darkness. It's hard to believe that shunpo training was so time-consuming.

Now what the hell am I supposed to eat?

_There are a few fishes in the lake, some mushrooms over to the side, a wild berry plant behind you and fruits on the tree next to yours above your very head._

I looked up. There were indeed fruits on the aforementioned tree, which I identified as apples. They were a startling shade of red, and they looked really juicy.

My stomach growled.

Hey, elf-lady. I thought I wasn't supposed to feel hungry anymore in the afterlife.

_You feel hungry due to the reiatsu that was consumed during your training. All the souls with a degree of power feel hungry once in a while. If you're not careful, you might even die._

You mean souls can die again?

_Destroyed, not die. I apologize for my inappropriate use of language. Souls can still be destroyed due to natural or unnatural causes, such as a sword through the heart, loss of blood or even old age._

Interesting.

My stomach growled again. How am I supposed to get the fruit from way up there?

_Fool. Have you already forgotten about the reishi solidification technique?_

Oh yeah.

* * *

Not in the mood to catch fishes or to prepare a fire, I just ate the apples to refuel myself for the day ahead. Eating seemed to not only satisfy my hunger, but it rejuvenated me slightly as well.

_Good. Now that you have eaten and recovered your reiatsu, we can move on to the next part, Kido._

Fine. How do I start?

_First, you have to know that Kido is not as simple as just using an imaging technique. You have to chant the incantation and refine your reiatsu to your will. This takes quite a bit of spiritual control, which you seem to lack._

You don't need to rub it in. Just tell me what to do.

_Flow your reiatsu to your first finger and repeat after me._

_Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The flash of the first spear marks the beginning of battle! Hado number four, Byakurai!_

"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast!" I began.

I began channelling my reiatsu down my arm.

"Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring."

The reiatsu flowed down to my hand, creating a tingling sensation.

"Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm."

When it reached my palm, I held it out in front of me. The reiatsu seemed to intensify and move towards my index finger, and I curled my fingers into the shape of a gun.

"The flash of the first spear marks the beginning of battle!" I continued, the gradual increase of power sending shocks up my arm.

_Too much reiatsu! Reduce it or the spell will blow up in your face!_

I tried to reduce it, but the rhythm of the chant was already building itself up. It was way too late to reduce it now. Rather then taking a gamble by delaying the spell, which would probably blow it up, I decided to release the pent up energy.

"Hado number four, Byakurai!" I shouted, completing the incantation.

As soon the last syllable escaped my mouth, a blinding projectile flew out from my index finger, flying forward. It skidded across the water, causing sprays of water to fly, swirling in the air due to the reishi disruption. Finally, it accelerated and collided into a tree on the opposite end of the lake.

The result was a startling explosion. The parts of the tree which took a direct hit were reduced to ash, while the rest of the tree burst into large splinters from the force of the collision. A few of them flew right across the lake at high speeds, and one piece was moving rapidly toward my right eye.

I raised up my left hand and caught it in between my index and middle fingers.

The Hoho training earlier really _did_ improve my reaction time.

_Hmph. Not bad, although I would've put less power behind it. You were right on the brink of having it explode in your face, you know. Another millisecond and it would've gone 'BOOM!!'_

Thanks for not having any faith, elf-lady.

_You're welcome.

* * *

_

Having rested for a while, as the attempt at Byakurai earlier took a lot out of me, I got back to my feet, ready for the second go. The sun was still hidden behind the mountains, and I still had the whole day to practice.

But before that, I have a few questions, elf-lady.

_What is it?_

How did the human from before use Kido, anyway? Seki, or something like that.

_That human is actually a shinigami. She had a zanpakuto, but it was absent in her mind. The other one, on the other hand, is actually a human. He had two zanpakuto in him, one dormant and one active. It appears that she had given hers to his to him to awaken his own power._

Whoa. You can do that?

_Yes. Although it is against the general law of zanpakuto, a shinigami can give anyone his or her zanpakuto, although it is risky. I shall not explain it any further, however. I do not want you to give me away._

You actually sound like you care.

_Let's not get absurd. Now let's start again. The chant goes…

* * *

_

After firing a successful Byakurai, I decided to ask another question.

What is Hado and Bakado or whatever?

_Bakudo, not Bakado. The Way of Binding and the Way of the Idiot are two different things, idiot._

My bad. Anyway, answer the question, please?

_Both Hado and Bakudo are a subtype of Kido. Hado spells are generally offensive Kido, and it is known as the Way of Destruction. Bakudo, on the other hand, is supportive. Its other name is the Way of Binding. The spell she used was Seki is spell number eight, a shield that repels._

How many of them are there, anyway?

_There are 99 registered spells for both categories._

So there are 198 Kido spells? How the hell are you supposed to remember all that?

_Language, please. And 198 _registered_ Kido spells. There are probably many other spells that have been created by people besides the shinigami._

And these spells are all as long as the one for number four?

_That was an easy one. The chants grow longer and harder as the number increases. Some spells also require a catalyst, such as body markings and movements. Are you quite finished yet?_

Last question for now, I promise. How did the girl in the world of the living cast Kido without chanting the spell?

_It is called Eishohaki. By internalising the chant, it can be used more effectively in battle. However, this weakens the power of the spell, and if you are inexperienced, it can fail or backfire. Only experienced practitioners should try it. People who can actually control their reiatsu._

Very funny.

_Let's continue…

* * *

_

As the sun rose overhead, I released a perfect Byakurai against the last tree standing nearby. It flew in a straight line and hit the target, and the familiar sound of the explosion filled my ears.

_You're pretty good at this already. You should take a rest, for now. After all, for tonight you are to use only shunpo to get to the Academy._

What?! That's over six hours of running to get there. I'll be exhausted by the time I get there.

_But the extra practice would help._

I'm not _that_ desperate.

_Too bad. The die has been cast._

What die?! You made the decision.

_That die. You should take only half an hour to get to the Academy. Any longer and you fail my test._

Damn you, bird. I never back down from a challenge.

_I know, Shiro. I know.

* * *

_

A/N: That was a fun chapter to write. Kido is much more fun to write about than Hoho.

The incantation for Byakurai is currently unknown, and I had to start with a low level spell, so I just took another lightning spell (Raikkoho) and edited the chant a little, since certain spells (Geki and Horin / Shakkaho and Sokatsui) have the same beginnings.

And as usual, reviews would be extremely appreciated.


	6. The Three Lieutenants

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OC thus far.

* * *

Chapter 6

I slept for twelve full hours as preparation to shunpo all the way to the Shinigami Academy. As I said before, I never back down from a challenge. Before the timing started, I asked my zanpakuto spirit for the directions.

_The Shinigami Academy is in that direction, in between the two tallest trees._ She pointed out. _Let's go._

I started to shunpo in that general direction. Surprisingly, although the world was passing by quickly, I saw the world in as much clarity as I would have if I was taking a leisure stroll. The trees zoomed by as I took step after step, and I caught the incredible scenery in high definition.

_That's good. Your senses are becoming more refined due to your body getting adjusted to your once-suppressed reiatsu. This helps you to focus much more as compared to before. It also means that shunpo would be less tiring for you._

Hurray. Now can you _please_ let me concentrate for half an hour?

_Fine. Be that way._

I will. Now shut up.

_…No need to be so rude._

I mean it.

I made the rest of the journey to the Shinigami Academy in silence.

* * *

We're here, elf-lady.

I stood outside a giant wall, with an equally huge sleeping giant leaning against it. I wouldn't have guessed that this wall was the meeting place if it wasn't for the fact that there were posters and signs pasted all over it.

_So you did make it in under 30 minutes. Most impressive._

Yeah, yeah. I told you, I never back down from a challenge.

I walked and put my hand on the gate. It felt different, as though it was trying to drain something away from me.

"So you're here, and early too. In fact, you're the first to come." A familiar voice came from behind me. I turned, only to be greeted by Lieutenant 69's smirk. Needless to say, I was surprised.

_So he _can_ smile, even though it's just a smirk_.

Yeah, elf-lady. I just thought the same thing.

"Yes," I nodded to his question. I arched backwards, leaning against the gate. "It was tiring getting here."

He shook his head. "It's only half a day's walk, you know. Eight hours run. Or fifteen minutes for shunpo." He waited for a while before raising his eyebrow. "You're not gonna ask me what shunpo is?"

"Nope."

He seemed disappointed, as though he wanted to astound me with his knowledge. Raising his head, he continued.

"Anyway, you must be hungry. Follow me. We'll go have a bite or something." He said, gesturing me to follow before turning his back and walking forward.

I gratefully accepted his offer. Apples can only last you for so long before you get hungry again.

"By the way, my name is Shuhei Hisagi. I'm the Lieutenant of Squad 9."

"Shiro Aragaki."

He nodded, and we continued on in silence. There was a gentle breeze tonight, and the moon was three-quarters full. The area around here was much cleaner as compared to the sector I landed in earlier.

Walking behind him, we entered a traditional Japanese restaurant where the only customer was a large man in shinigami robes. The only two additions was a large purple collar around his already huge neck and a badge with the number 2 on it. He sat at the counter, gobbling bowl after bowl of steaming hot ramen. The mouth-watering smell wafted around the store, and I was tempted to steal his food right there and then.

_That's not nice._

Hey, I'm hungry, okay?

_It's still not nice._

I looked forward as Shuhei walked up behind the man. Seeing an opportunity to freeload, his eyes lighted up.

"Hey, Marechiyo. I'm kinda hungry and I don't have any money. Mind sparing my friend and I two bowls?" He gestured at the mountain of bowls that was in front of the large man.

"Why should I? I'm still hungry, you know." He replied, downing the soup in his current bowl before moving to another.

"I'll tell Rangiku to feed you for a week if you don't…" Shuhei threatened in a singsong voice, with an evil glint in his eye.

Somehow, this Rangiku person must be a really bad cook, because Ramen Monster over here started sweating bullets. Shuhei sat down two seats to the right of Ramen Monster, and gestured for me to sit down.

Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed two bowls from the heap and slid one down to me. I grabbed the chopsticks from the stand in front of me and began attacking the ramen, which was beef, like there was no tomorrow. Suddenly, Ramen Monster stood up and turned around.

"You can have the rest. I have no appetite anymore. What were you thinking, Shuhei, mentioning Rangiku's cooking while I'm eating?" He muttered before walking out of the store shaking his head.

"Score!" Shuhei exclaimed happily. He quickly finished the bowl he was holding and grabbed another from Ramen Mountain. He attacked it with such ferocity that put Ramen Monster to shame. I continued eating mine at the same pace, which was a tad bit slower than his, before stopping and asking a question.

"Who was that man, Shuhei?"

"It's Lieutenant Hisagi to you, since you're joining the Shinigami Academy."

He has faith in me, huh?

"Anyway, that was Marechiyo Omaeda, the Lieutenant of Squad 2. Believe it or not, he's actually way faster than he looks." He said in between slurps.

So people who wear badges are lieutenants, huh? Interesting.

"So who is Rangiku?" I wanted to find out more about the cooking terror. Anybody who can make a man lose his appetite like that had to have beyond terrible cooking skills.

"Rangiku Matsumoto. She's the Lieutenant of Squad 10. As you've probably guessed, she's a terrible cook." He shuddered, and his pace of eating slowed a little.

"Who's a terrible cook?" Shuhei froze, fear written plainly on his face. I turned around and noticed a beautiful woman with the biggest jugs in shinigami uniform standing right behind us. She had strawberry blonde hair, icy blue eyes and a beauty mark on the right side of her mouth. Her expression was one of anger. I didn't really understand why until I noticed the badge on her left arm.

It had the number 10 on it.

Shuhei is so screwed.

_Agreed._

I resumed my delicious meal over the screams of the Lieutenant of Squad 9. I gotta remember this place. Their beef ramen is exceptional.

* * *

"So who's this?" Rangiku turned to me, looking satisfied after executing her punishment.

Damn, she's hot.

"He's the source of the reiatsu surge in the 1st District two days ago." Shuhei informed her. He looked like he was still in pain. "He's here for the entrance exam."

"Shiro Aragaki. Nice to meet you." I greeted her.

"Likewise. As Shuhei here already told you, I am Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto of Squad 10, but you can call me Rangiku." She replied. Her eyes narrowed. "However, I am _not_ a terrible cook. My style of cooking is just unique and underappreciated."

I looked behind her and saw Shuhei shaking his head and forming an 'X' with his arms. Guess her cooking really _is_ bad. She turned around, and Shuhei hastily lowered his arms and put an innocent expression on his face.

"So Rangiku," Shuhei began, wanting to change the subject. "How did you know we were here?"

"I saw Marechiyo coming out of this store, muttering something about Shuhei and cooking. So I came in." She turned to her left arm and adjusted the badge. "These badges are so irritating. Thank goodness we only have to wear them for formal occasions."

Shuhei glanced at his own badge. "It's not that bad."

"That's because you wear it all the time." Rangiku countered. "Anyway, the sun is rising, and we're gonna have to be assemble outside the gate soon."

"It's that late already?" Shuhei scratched his head before standing up. "I guess we'd better get going. You too, Shiro."

I nodded and stood up alongside them.

"Ugh, this is so troublesome. Why do we lieutenants have to officiate these ceremonies anyway?" Rangiku complained as we stepped outside.

"Orders of Head Captain Yamamoto. Apparently this year, all captains and lieutenants have to assist in a class once every month." Shuhei replied.

"So which class are you taking, Shuhei?" Rangiku asked as we started walking back to the giant wall.

"The writing class. I need more people to submit stories to the Seireitei Communication." The Lieutenant of Squad 9 answered. "How about you?"

"I dunno. I just found out about it." She pouted. "Maybe the zanpakuto meditation class. Since the helpers just have to keep the quiet, I could probably slack!"

Shuhei and I exchanged a look. Rangiku was actually serious about the idea.

"So do you think you're gonna be able to pass the test?" Rangiku questioned me.

_Definitely._

"Maybe. It depends." I replied.

At that moment, a black butterfly flew towards our little company, and perched on Shuhei's finger. Before I could even blink, a second butterfly landed on Rangiku's as well. After a moment of unseen communication, they nodded to each other and turned to me.

"We're going to have to go now. We'll probably meet you by the gates." Shuhei said. With that, they shunpo-ed away, reappearing far in front of me before completely disappearing in the morning fog.

_Well, we're alone again._

Yeah… Should we catch up with them?

_Why not? You could still use the practice._

Alright, here I go.

* * *

It took me two minutes to get to the gates. Shuhei and Rangiku were nowhere in sight, but there was now a large crowd gathered around the gate. The giant was also awake, conversing with a few people up front.

I bumped into someone.

"Oi oi, why'd you have to push me down?" I looked down and saw a young man looking up in annoyance. His medium-length brown hair was messy, he had sharp-looking eyes and an equally sharp chin that was clean-shaven.

"Sorry, it was an accident. Are you alright?" I held out my hand.

"Yep. No harm done." He announced as he accepted my offered assistance and pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself.

"So you're here for the entrance exam too?" I asked. He looked at me curiously.

"Dude, are you like new or something? Everyone here is taking the entrance exam. It's pretty much a one-way ticket out of the Rukongai."

One...two...three, I estimated about 500 people here.

Holy crap. That's a lot of candidates.

_Not really. I only detect about a hundred students with enough reiatsu to even qualify, and half of them probably don't know how to do anything._

How about this guy here?

_He has decent amounts of reiatsu. He might be one of those who'll pass._

Interesting.

"I didn't catch your name." He said.

"That's because I didn't say it." I replied. "Shiro Aragaki." I held out a hand.

He shook it. "Yosuke Shibuya."

We started conversing about random things, but I did catch on to a few important things. Apparently, he wasn't that old either, having only spent a few months in the Soul Society. He travelled here from the 2nd District-

"Silence!" A loud voice demanded before I could learn anything more about him. I turned to the front, and Yosuke did the same.

The crowd obeyed. In front were the three lieutenants from before, Rangiku, Shuhei and Marechiyo. Marechiyo continued talking.

"You have gathered here today to take the entrance exam to the Shinigami Academy. Before we continue, all of you had better be commited, or I'll smash the eyeballs outta you! Anyone who isn't, leave now!"

No one moved.

"Good. I'll now pass the time to Lieutenant Hisagi" He gestured to Shuhei, who looked unbothered about the whole thing.

"Good morning, everyone. We, the Lieutenants of Squads 2, 9 and 10 have been instructed to conduct this examination here at the West Gate." His eyes narrowed. "Before we start moving into the Seireitei for the examination, I want to give you all a warning." His voice became threatening.

"Do not, and I repeat, _do not_ take this exam as a joke. A majority of you will fail the first test, and believe it or not, the second test is harder."

There was an excited buzz among the candidates. Listening on to a conversation to my left, I learned two things.

One, this was the first time Lieutenants were involved in the exams, and two, the tests really did involve the four main techniques, Zanjutsu, Kido, Hoho and Hakuda.

_You didn't trust me?_ She sounded amused.

A little.

_I see._ This time, her voice was quiet.

"Please form four lines and queue outside the gate. Jidanbo, the gate keeper will raise the gate for us. After that, follow us into the Seireitei and do not make any detours. Anybody who does so will be apprehended immediately." He warned. He then turned to Jidanbo, and nodded.

The giant began to literally raise the gate by carrying it with his bare hands. His armoured shoulder, which was his left, began to support the gate once it was high enough. He stood up with the gate on his shoulder, and used his right hand to flip a switch to lock it in place. He then stood to the side with a satisfied look on his face.

The four lines began to march past the gate with the three lieutenants in lead.

_The test is about to begin Shiro. Are you ready?_ My zanpakuto asked as Yosuke and I passed under the gate side by side.

Yes, elf-lady. I think I am.

Just watch me.

* * *

A/N: That was comparatively long compared to the previous chapters. I'm sorry if some of the characters seem abit OOC, but well, I barely know about Hisagi and Omaeda. Bleach wikia for the win! =D

Please, please review. I do need the encouragement to write. They would, as usual, be extremely appreciated.


	7. Entrance Exam! : Part I

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OC thus far.

* * *

Chapter 7

The second thing they did after they led us to a great hall was to give each of us a plain blue card, asking us to imprint our reiatsu on it. The first? It was registration, of course. I didn't have the slightest clue on how to imprint, though, so I turned to my closest information deposit.

"Hey, Yosuke. How am I supposed to do this?" I turned to said person, asking him for directions. He was already done, his card now orange in colour and shaped differently than mine.

"Just hold the card and flow the reiatsu down your hand. It's that simple." He replied, looking relaxed, as though he had already passed the test.

Okay…let's give it a shot.

I channelled the reiatsu into the card, and it started warping, for some reason. It wasn't like the others, where it gradually changed colour. My card was glowing and twisting around at high speed.

The light that it emanated was a haunting grey. It seemed to be calling me, drawing me into it, yet it gave off such a repulsive aura that made my stomach turn. Yosuke, who was next to me, stared at the glowing card. He seemed to be immune to the effect along with everyone else in the room though, which was weird. Was the feeling limited only to the imprinter?

_It's not that. This shouldn't even be happening in the first place!_ Elf-lady sounded panicked.

What is it?

_He's back here…!_

Before I could discern anything else from her, the light died suddenly, and I felt normal again. My card, now a pale grey-blue, was twisted into a strange shape, giving it an odd appearance of a mask.

A Hollow mask.

Damn, if that's what she meant, then I'm screwed. Beyond screwed.

As the examiners came around to collect the cards, I realised that about a fifth of the other cards were also morphed. Some were the face of a tiger, others a dragon, and after a while I realized that Yosuke's was in the shape of a wolf. There were a few multiples of some of them, such as the four lions, the six doves and the two snakes among the cards.

But why is mine the only mask here?

* * *

Apparently their way of judging the first test was by chucking out those people who couldn't transfigure their cards. This was met with disappointment from the majority of those who failed, and some of them demanded for a second chance. None was given, however, and they were all escorted out of the Seireitei by a handful of shinigami.

They then to separated us into four groups, 21 each, as there were 104 people remaining. Each group was to go to a separate section, Zanjutsu, Kido, etc. Yosuke ended up in the third group, while I was assigned to the first group, which meant Zanjutsu first. Having practiced kendo while I was alive, I've had some experience with swords. I just hope that it was enough.

Our group facilitator turned out to be Shuhei, who led us through some corridors to a dojo reminiscent of the one I trained in when I was alive.

Then again, every dojo looked the same as the other.

There was a two people in the dojo, one female -probably the one who recorded the results- and a completely beefed-up man, who was, surprisingly, not in shinigami clothing, but a variation of slightly different colour.

"I am Instructor Sanzo, and I will be heading this examination. Instructor Kagome over there is going to judge you based on your performance." He announced with a great voice. He then flexed, causing his muscles to completely rip his top, revealing twenty-odd wooden swords strapped on to his back. He threw the swords into the air, told us to catch them.

Easy.

I caught a sword right in front of me by the hilt as I heard sounds of wood hitting the floor coming from the crowd behind me. Guess some of them couldn't catch their swords.

"Those who failed to catch their swords, pick them up and stand to the side." Instructor Sanzo said. They obeyed his instructions.

"Your maximum marks will be halved for this examination, as you failed to catch the swords to begin with."

"What!?"

"That's not fair!"

"What kind of marking is this?"

Ignoring the protests that came his way, he started speaking.

"Pick up your swords, and don't complain. Not being able to catch your sword means either your reaction is slow, you have bad reflexes, or both. These two are extremely important for a shinigami."

That…makes sense.

He then addressed everyone. "Now everyone pair up! I don't care who partners who, but I want to see everyone in pairs within 10 seconds!"

The group started scrambling around, looking for people to pair with. Some people were acquainted with one another and chose them as partners. I walked around, searching for partners, but they were all taken. Sooner or later I was left standing alone as there were an odd number of candidates.

Figures. Leave the new kid out.

"Who doesn't have partner?" Instructor Sanzo checked.

I raised my hand.

"You're with me then." Shuhei said, making his way to me from the corner of the dojo.

Crap. I have to spar with a lieutenant? This was getting bad.

_Relax._

I'm trying to, elf-lady. But I'm pairing with a freaking lieutenant here.

_You'll be fine._

If you say so... By the way, is he gone? The hollow, I mean.

_Yes. He only returned for a short while._

"Okay, now two pairs go at a time. Instructor Kagome and I will keep track on your progress. You are to spar with one another. However, you can only hit the opponent using the sword provided. Stop only when the other cannot fight." He briefed.

"Alright, you two," he pointed to two people, "and you two," he pointed to the pair next to them, "will be going first."

The indicated people made their way, one already sweating nervously, to the centre of the dojo. They each took their individual stances, and the instructor told them to begin.

I decided to watch the match Instructor Sanzo was judging. The two people attacked each other ferociously, but the smaller girl was slowly losing ground.

"Looks like the guy will win, doesn't it." Shuhei commented. He appeared to be watching the same match as I was.

"No. Look at the girl. She's just toying with him." I told him.

True enough, the girl made a sudden spin and struck her opponent in the leg. He cried out in pain and flinched for a tiny moment, but the damage was done. The girl began a barrage of attacks from every direction that was too swift for him to parry completely. He eventually dropped his sword and used his arms to shield himself from the flurry of blows.

"Stop!" Instructor Sanzo bellowed. He turned to the guy who dropped his sword. "You have failed this test. It was supposed to be a sword fight. In a real battle, you would've been dead, many times over. Take this as a lesson to never drop your weapon unless truly necessary. Now stand over to the side. You are to go home after everyone here is done with this test."

"But-" he protested.

"No buts. You are to obey the instructions given. Next four!" He shouted. The girl who had just won her match walked of coolly, not even panting.

"Looks like you _do_ know your stuff," Shuhei commended.

As pair after pair had their spar, with two other people getting disqualified, Shuhei and I conversed for a bit, mostly about the ongoing matches. He _did_ say he'd go easy on me though, which was definitely a good thing.

Pair after pair competed with had their spar, and eventually, only Shuhei and I were left.

"Last pair!" Sanzo called. "Watch this, greenhorns. Lieutenant Hisagi is going to show you how you're supposed to use your sword."

Everyone started staring as we stepped onto the centre. I heard a few whispers, mostly about how unlucky I was to face a lieutenant. I personally agreed with them. Fate had it in for me today.

_Stop being so negative. You'll be fine._

No guarantees.

I took my stance and faced Shuhei, who had a looked a little too bored for a swordfight. Granted, I was a newbie, but-

"Begin!"

I rushed and instantly swung wooden sword in an upward sweep, hoping to stagger him for an opening. Instead of parrying it, he dodged to my right, switching his sword to his left hand and spinning, aiming for my back. I crouched to avoid the incoming blow and swung upwards using my front leg as a lever. I felt much faster that I'd ever felt in while I was alive. And I was dead.

How ironic.

He dodged to my left this time and swung downwards with his weapon. I deflected the blow and countered with a thrust, which he parried expertly, as expected of a lieutenant.

Shuhei still looked too relaxed for his own good, so I decided to up the pace. Beginning a two-handed swordplay technique, I hammered on his wooden sword rapidly with overhead strikes before spinning and aiming for his side. My strength had increased as well, making my attacks swifter and more jarring.

The surprising thing was that I was enjoying this.

_Told you._

What was unsurprising, however, was that Shuhei blocked my last hit, but he looked a little more awake now. He started to go on the offensive, and employed a variation of the technique I used earlier, only it ended with a thrust, which I narrowly avoided, the tip grazing my clothes. Letting my right hand go from the sword, I attempted a left-handed swing at his open stomach.

Instead of parrying, he did the unexpected and leapt on to my sword and kicked off, spinning upside down in the air and throwing me off balance. He completed the flip and landed a fair distance away, and immediately began running toward me to attack while I was still turning on my feet.

My increased reaction speed allowed me to toss the sword into the air and catch it with my right hand in time, using the momentum from his kick to parry his rising strike.

You're not gonna get me that easily, bro.

We stood there, deadlocked. In movies, this would be the point where we start talking, but honestly, I don't know how they can put that in. I mean, yeah, it's dramatic, but when you deadlock, you use everything you have to overpower the enemy. There is not time for words. You can, however, lock eyes.

Slowly, but surely, I was being overpowered. Before he could throw me off, I leapt back, and Shuhei, expecting the sudden loss of resistance, jumped back as well.

Now _this_ is when conversations can take place. We were circling each other with our swords lowered, but at the ready.

"You know, you're pretty good." Shuhei complimented.

"You're not so bad yourself." I admitted. I was barely worn out, as this was nothing compared to 3 hours of non-stop shunpo.

"What else would you expect? I _am_ a lieutenant, you know." He replied indignantly. I watched out for signs of incoming attack during our conversation, as most people usually attack when their opponent is distracted with small talk. When I saw his foot stiffen, I slid to the side, already in the action of parrying his next slash.

From then on, the battle became much more intense. I found myself relying more and more on survival instincts as opposed to rational thinking as blow after blow was exchanged between us. Deciding that this was going nowhere, I opted to get away from him to strategize.

Moving to the other end of the dojo, I heard collective gasps from the candidates, while Shuhei and the other instructors' eyes were widened with surprise.

I realised what I did just then. I used shunpo to get away from the slashing machine.

…Crap. I don't think I'm supposed to know how to do that yet.

So much for not drawing attention.

_Well, no time for regrets. He's coming right now._

Sure enough, Shuhei was coming, a little faster than before. He looked fully focused now, and surely enough, he did the unexpected once more and shunpo-ed into the air above me with his sword raised over his head. He was poised to deliver a finishing blow.

You didn't tell me shunpo could be used to leap into the air like that!

_You never asked._

Fair point.

I got into a forward stance and deflected his sword, causing it to go off course while I continued with a thrust. Exercising great control, he reversed the direction of his sword before getting hit and pushed my thrust away lightly. I brought my right hand to the back of the sword for and we clashed again, only this time, we were both on the ground.

"Let's finish this. It's taking too long." I told him. He nodded in agreement and we both backed off, gearing up for one final encounter.

I watched him slowly as he got into his stance. He was watching me as well, and if neither of us moved, we'd probably be standing here till the sun comes down.

At the slightest movement from him, I shunpo-ed upwards and kicked off the dojo ceiling, increasing my velocity and adding my entire weight to the attack. He simply executed a normal shunpo, and my sword met his in the centre in a titanic clash.

Both our wooden swords broke. I guess we exerted too much force on them or something.

Oh well.

I turned back to Instructor Sanzo, his jaw still agape from the awesomeness of the battle.

"The swords broke. Do I pass?" I asked him. I already knew the results, but it never did hurt to confirm things.

He took awhile to register the fact that I was talking to him.

"Uh… I guess you deserve full points for disarming a lieutenant." He recovered. "Although your weapon broke as well, you displayed great skill with the sword by being able to keep up with Lieutenant Hisagi's attacks."

"Thanks, Instructor." I turned back and walked back to the side of the dojo along with Shuhei. Everyone's eyes were on me, and I heard more whispers, although they were completely different from the ones before, opposites, even.

Shuhei began to address the candidates the moment we reached back to the wall.

"We will be going to the next section of the exam now. It's Hoho." He informed us. "Those who have failed, follow the two shinigami at the door."

Awesome. Hoho means time for a break.

* * *

After the three ex-candidates exited the dojo looking rather depressed, the rest of us followed Shuhei along more passages and corridors to end up at an indoor field. It had a skylight, and it was huge, about the size of two football fields. There were two people already there, whom I assumed were the examiners for this exam. Again, it was male and female.

Maybe they're trying to promote anti-sexism or something.

"I am Instructor Hajime, and I'm in charge of your Hoho examination." The rather unremarkable man announced.

"And I am Instructor Shimizu. I am here to record your marks." The woman informed in a clear, yet quiet voice.

"The rules here are simple. As I understand it, there are 18 of you left. All of you will be divided into groups of 3. There will be a game of 3 on 3 tag lasting 10 minutes. The rules are simple."

"This," he held up a red sticker-like object, "is a tag. There will be 3 of them in the game. All of them have reiatsu detectors which indicate which team has the longest time with the tag. The tag is automatically passed on when you tag someone, including your team members."

"Before I place you into groups, remember one more thing. Your marks here are distributed on both your individual and teamwork skills." He warned.

"Now Gendo, Himura and Suzuki, you're in the first team." He went on. The indicated people nodded and huddled together to discuss strategy.

The organisation of groups continued.

"This should be easy for you and me." I turned around, and recognized the speaker as the girl who won the first match at Zanjutsu by her distinctive layered raven black shoulder-length hair. Her face was structured like doll, and she had porcelain white skin. Startling blue eyes shone on her face, and she looked lithe and slim. No doubt about it, she was beautiful.

"I guess." I replied. I felt surprised that she would even talk to me in the first place, seeing as she ignored most of the other candidates.

"Where did you learn to shunpo like that, anyway?" She asked, with a curious expression on her face.

Should I tell her, elf-lady?

_Do what you wish._ I could almost hear her rolling her eyes in my mind.

Deciding on the truth, I described to her how I learned to shunpo, omitting the parts where I fell into the mud a few times. No point looking bad in front of someone you just met, right?

She chuckled amusedly. "Yours is the first case I have heard of, learning shunpo from a zanpakuto. I, on the other hand, learnt it from my brothers." So she can shunpo as well. I suspected as much.

"What is your name?" She continued. I mentally kicked myself. How could I be so impolite, especially to a girl like this?

"Shiro Aragaki. Pleased to meet you." I answered. I can only hope I didn't make too much of a bad impression. "And yours?"

"My name is Ayame Mochizuki. The feeling is mutual." Holy crap she's formal. Is she nobility or something? Impoliteness plus nobility equals to-

"Mochizuki, Aragaki and Sanada, team 4." Instructor Hajime announced, interrupting my train of thought.

* * *

What a joke. Our team will win for sure.

…Unless Sanada keeps 3 tags on him at all times.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the update delay. Busy with school and whatnot. -.-

He did not win. He drew, and if had continued fighting the lieutenant, he would've lost for sure.

Hope you enjoy reading! **PLEASE REVIEW!**

It would be extremely appreciated. ;P


	8. Entrance Exam! : Part II

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OCs thus far.

* * *

Chapter 8

We were halfway through the game.

You know what's cool about Sanada? He has white hair.

You know what's cooler? He looks young with it.

Speed-wise, Sanada wasn't that bad. He's actually pretty decent when he came to running. No shunpo, but he could run really fast. As in, _really_ fast.

As predicted, we were winning, with our combined tag time of 12 seconds to their 16 minutes and 32 seconds. Two of them were so slow they were almost pathetic. The other runner, on the other hand, was faster than Sanada, which was saying something, but it just wasn't enough to compensate for the two slowpokes.

By now, we could actually win even by holding the tags for the rest of the game.

…But where was the fun in that?

I was like the wind, whirling in between the contestants, removing tags off Sanada and tagging our opponents instead. It was a simple strategy Ayame, Sanada and I came up with during our little reprieve.

But if I was akin to the wind, Ayame could only be described as lightning. She leaped around at unbelievable speeds, doing the same thing I was doing. Her movements were precise, and she was twice as fast as I was. As she darted around her targets, only her silhouette was visible to the eye.

A normal eye, that is. Shunpo-stimulated eyes are very useful. I could see her every move.

_Move to your right, now!_ I did as instructed and avoided their fastest runner by an inch.

Of course, having a helpful zanpakuto spirit is nice too.

* * *

I learned something from the game. Ayame plays with her food. Not literally food, but stuff in general. She would dodge someone by a single centimetre to taunt them, and her timing was perfect. Every. Time.

Scary.

We were leading (obviously) 17 seconds to 29 minutes 40 seconds. In a second, which felt like ages in shunpo, the whistle would blow.

"Stop!" Instructor Hajime shouted.

Okay, so there was no whistle. Who would've guessed?

_Idiot. In the past match, there wasn't a whistle either._

Really? I guess I wasn't paying attention, elf-lady.

As soon as the signal was given, everyone excluding Ayame and I collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat and exhausted. In stark contrast, the two of us weren't even panting. I turned and followed Ayame back to where we were before the match, not before inviting Sanada to join us. He declined, however, and rejoined his friends at the other end of the room.

"Amateurs." Ayame muttered once we returned to our spot. Despite her harsh words, she had a small smile on her face. Looks like she had fun toying with them, after all.

We conversed for a while, and I learned a little about her, through observation, of course. Her formality sounded forced, as she had a look of distaste every time she went beyond casualness.

As our talk continued, she loosened up a little. While a majority of it was mild banter, she provided one juicy piece of information which caught my interest.

"Are you taking the Onmitsukido entrance exam?" She asked. "It's in six months time. You should be able to pass it easily."

That means she's probably interested in joining the Onmitsukido.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm still deciding." I answered truthfully.

"Stop!" Instructor Hajime shouted for the third time today. I stole a glance at the timer. 14 minutes to 16 minutes, in team 5's favour. It looks like it was a close match. As with Sanada and the others before, all of them collapsed onto the ground, desperate for a little rest.

Shuhei showed them no mercy.

"Okay, now that we're done here, let's move on. We're going to Hakuda next."

There were a few groans from the floor.

"If you don't get going, you're going to be left behind." He taunted in a singsong voice.

Only two of the six heaved themselves up to join the line. He sighed and continued.

"And if you're left behind, you're gonna get lost… which means you don't have to sit for the exams." That was the deathblow.

The rest quickly got up and joined the line as well.

There you go. The key points were lost and exams.

Hope we all learned something there.

With everyone in line, we started towards the Hakuda examination site. Hakuda was…

_Hand-to-hand combat._

Oh yeah…

* * *

We made our way through more passageways and corridors with _yet_ another left turn at the fork, indicating that we were moving in a square. Or maybe not, what with all the twists and turns we took.

We passed by group two on our way there, which was led by Rangiku. Some of the candidates had bruises on their faces, and it looks like there were a few of them sent home as well…This definitely promises to be fun.

…Okay, let's get a few things straight. I am _not_ a violent person. In fact, I'm actually a pacifist who enjoys fighting.

_Not possible, Shiro. A pacifist is someone who doesn't like fighting._

Enough of the smart remarks, elf-lady. You know what I mean.

…_Not really, no._

_

* * *

_

We arrived at the Hakuda examination site, which was simply a larger variation of the Zanjutsu dojo.

…Told you all dojos look alike.

The people in the room were different, obviously. There were two, and once again, of different gender. Definitely anti-sexism.

The girl was kinda short and had medium length hair. Like her fellow examiner, she was dressed fully in black. He, on the other hand, was wearing a ninja mask over his face, so nothing but his eyes could be seen. They were a steely blue. Nothing else could be discerned about him behind the mask.

We assembled in front of the two, as we did with the others.

"I'm Instructor Hattori. I am in charge of the Hakuda section." He informed in a low, quiet voice.

"And I'm Instructor Kisaragi!" She chirped in a light, bubbly voice. "Imma ninja!"

"Kisaragi, please restrain yourself from referring to the Onmitsukido as ninjas." Hattori chided while shaking his head. "This is the third time I've told you that today."

"Aw, but-" She began, looking a little crestfallen.

"No buts." He cut her off. They seemed to have a mentor-mentee relationship. From their behaviour, it seemed fairly normal for this particular argument to occur.

"Now, for your Hakuda exam, as many of you have already guessed, we will be having a spar."

Some people already started moving to find partners. I glanced at Ayame, who hadn't moved an inch. She looked a little nervous, even worried, for some reason.

"That will not be necessary." He notified.

"The spar will be free-for-all. Everyone at once!" Kisaragi briefed. "Begin!"

She and her mentor disappeared before getting caught up in the chaos that ensued.

I immediately spun and bashed a candidate's head with my elbow. Seeing three more coming for me, I decided to be smart and disappear as well before getting caught in the centre. I stole a glance at where Ayame was earlier, and noticed that she decided to shunpo away like the instructors way before I did.

I backed into a corner. After all, a cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal. Besides, there were more advantages being at the corner. No one could attack my back, and they could only come at me two by two.

And come they did.

Before they reached me, I managed to locate Instructors Hattori and Kisaragi. They were sitting on the ceiling beams, of course. There were other figures in black as well, whom I assumed were the other members of the Onmitsukido. They were probably looking out for new recruits or something.

_Shiro, they're coming!_ Elf-lady warned.

Heeding her warning, I immediately kneed one attacker-to-be in the stomach and grabbed his head, throwing him onto his 'partner'.

For some reason, they weren't attacking each other. From what I could see, they were only targeting Ayame, who was surrounded by eight people (man, she must've pissed them off), Sanada, who was standing alone in the centre of four or five bodies on the ground, and myself, who had only three people to fight.

So they decided to gang up on us.

So be it.

I began the offensive, side kicking one in the stomach. I jumped with my leg still extended in the air, twisting and landing a horizontal bicycle kick on another guy's head. As much as I would have liked to check if they were unconscious, I noticed that Ayame was struggling to keep up with eight people.

As such, I shunpo-ed into the air and landed expertly right behind her on someone's arm. There was a snapping sound.

Oh damn, I think I broke it…

Spidey-sense tingling! I immediately crouched, just in time to avoid a back swing from Ayame. It missed me, but it took one of her opponents approaching her from the back in the stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground. Good, he deserved it.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She shouted as she reverted back to her original stance reminiscent of taekwondo. Oh boy, she sounded pissed.

"Helping you." I replied while taking advantage of the forced crouch earlier and used my leg to sweep someone off their feet before standing up again.

"I don't need your help." She proved her point by axe kicking someone in the head, knocking him out completely.

"Hey, we were a team before, and we're a team now." I said as I elbowed someone behind me and followed up with a back swing, sending my opponent to the ground.

To prove _my_ point, Sanada, in all his glory, blind sided two guys at once, knocking both out simultaneously in a blink of an eye. His stance was one that seemed like boxing, yet from the way he moved, it was fused with some other martial art as well, probably karate. It came together uniformly into a single, unique style that was Sanada's.

Remind me not to cross Sanada, elf-lady.

_I don't think you need any reminders for that._

"Hey." He gave a small wave. That's Sanada for you. He didn't need long, complicated words.

Ayame groaned. Guess my point was proven effectively.

I chuckled as I delivered a quick haymaker to one of the opponents in front of me. It seemed like Ayame didn't like our intervention.

"Whatever." She sighed.

The two people who were attacking me before (I knocked one out, it seemed) showed up to back up their makeshift comrades.

Come to think of it, why are they so against us anyway? They weren't attacking each other at all, and it was supposed to be a free for all spar, not a fifteen against three match.

_You three are the best in this group. They _do_ want to pass, you know._

Right… Ayame and Sanada disarmed their opponents in Zanjutsu, while I managed to spar toe-to-toe with a lieutenant. We displayed our prowess in Hoho, and if we excelled in Hakuda and Kido, they probably won't pass the exams.

Makes sense. Well, if that's the way they want it, so be it. No mercy!

The three of us stood back to back to back, and since there were only six opponents left, we made quick work of them.

Sanada's attacks were fast, swift, precise, powerful and any other positive adjective you could find for hitting people. His moves were never wasted, every second spent well, and his body coordination was impressive.

No wonder he took down those four people so quickly.

Ayame was pretty much the opposite. She made some very careless moves and spent a little too much time on recovery. For all her expertise in Hoho, her Hakuda was flawed. Even so, she was miles ahead of the other idiots here.

We were done in about thirty seconds. Sanada took out three candidates, I finished two and Ayame toyed with hers.

I think her toying was a habit.

Anyway, their plan backfired. By having just the three of us take down fifteen of them, they gave us more recognition, I think.

"So… do we fight each other now?" Sanada asked, out of his fighting stance.

"… Do we?" I looked up and asked. Sanada and Ayame looked up as well, finally noticing the many spectators.

Ayame's eyes widened.

Instructor Hattori leaped off the ceiling beam and landed lightly in front of us. Kisaragi followed suit with a big smile on her face. The other members simply vanished into thin air.

"Nope! We're done here." Kisaragi chirped, bouncing up and down. She was really too hyperactive and restless to come across as a ninja type.

"We have already gauged your abilities." He turned to Sanada. "Would you like a quick spar?" He asked hopefully. It looks like he noticed his skills as well.

Wait, of course he did. He's taking down the marks.

Silly me.

_Yes, silly you._ Elf-lady echoed.

Oh, quiet, you.

Sanada pondered about the decision before declining the invitation politely.

"I understand." The instructor said. He and Kisaragi disappeared, probably onto the ceiling beam again. They were soon joined by the same people from earlier.

"Good job, guys. There are about five favourites for the western gate exam. Three of you, one from group four and another from group three." Shuhei commended, walking towards us from the corner.

Group three, huh? That's Yosuke's group. Hope he isn't having a hard time there.

"So we wait?" I questioned, indicating the fifteen unconscious people on the ground.

"Yes. The one with the broken arm will be sent home, however." He frowned at me. "Try to be more careful next time."

I simply nodded.

* * *

The four of us had a little conversation while waiting for the others to regain consciousness. A few shinigami came to examine the injured. Turns out that everyone Sanada incapacitated was knocked out cold and deemed unfit to continue. That left us with only eight people in group one.

Thank goodness he was an ally.

During our fleeting talk, I finally learnt Sanada's first name. It's Akiro.

Our topic of conversation was the Gotei 13. Apparently each squad was headed by a captain and assisted by a lieutenant, save Squad 13, which was missing its lieutenant. Shuhei's rank took me by surprise. I thought there might've been Majors or Colonels that were way ahead of Lieutenants. We continued talking for about fifteen minutes before we were rudely interrupted by a rude awakening.

"Ngh…" One of the current eligible candidates on the floor stirred.

"They're about awake." Ayame pointed out.

Shuhei grinned mischievously. "Watch this."

"If you guys are not up in one minute, we'll be leaving without you." He said in the same singsong voice as before.

Words are powerful tools. The right ones stimulate people to do irrational things, such as getting up when you're semi-conscious.

But hey, it worked. Not only that, but two of the victims of Sanada's blows struggled to their feet as well. Their will power was amazing.

Too bad their skills didn't match it.

With ten people in line, we marched out of the dojo and to the final section, Kido. Having fired a successful Byakurai, it would probably be easy.

_Don't grow too over confident, Shiro._

I think that even if I fail the Kido section, I would still pass the overall exam, elf-lady.

Just don't even imagine me failing. It's not gonna happen.

* * *

A/N: First off, I am terribly, terribly sorry that I was late. Just as I was done with the first draft, my house had a power trip. Now, I don't save my files regularly and my comp is on 24/7, and it so happened that Auto Recovery doesn't work when a blackout occurs, leaving me completely devastated. I had to rewrite the whole thing from scratch, resulting in a loss of concepts and ideas (I reread only when my drafts are done). As such, I had not much mood, but I managed to pick it back up. Sorry if it sucked, it was kinda rushed in a way.

I tried for a different style this time, leaning more toward Greek Chorus than first-person view. As in, the past chapters already broke the fourth wall a few times, but this one even more so. Please review on which style you prefer.

They would be EXTREMELY appreciated. =D

And thanks for all the reviews so far! They're very encouraging!


	9. Entrance Exam! : Part Finale

A/N: Hey, thanks for the reviews so far! They're really encouraging.

Just to clarify certain things. Shiro is not imbalanced. The others are just weak. It's pretty much the comparison between Hollow+Bankai Ichigo and the first Ichigo without Zangetsu.

Well, now that that's done, let's get the party started!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OCs thus far.

* * *

Chapter 9

On the way to the Kido examinations, we passed by group three; Yosuke's group. The man himself had a bored look on his face, and as we passed each other, he gave a quick wink.

That probably meant he did well, so I probably had to bring myself up as well. Meh, no problem.

The facilitator of their group, Omaeda nodded to Shuhei as they passed one another, which he returned curtly.

We broke off from them when we made…another left turn. Having practically zero sense of direction, I wasn't sure whether we were going in a circle or not, so I turned to ask Akiro to confirm.

"No, we're not moving in a circle. It's more of a… I don't know what it's called, but to answer your question, no."

Great. Onward to Kido, then!

* * *

Kido really was boring. All they asked us to do when we reached there was form a sphere of reishi above our palms. At least, until someone asked whether they could actually demonstrate some Kido they knew.

The two instructors, Instructor Maeda and Instructor Aiko (once again, a guy and a girl) had replied with a yes, and affirmed that more marks could be earned that way. The feminine instructor also added that only legitimate and registered Kido spells would be accepted.

Without any further ado, five of the ten candidates volunteered to perform Kido, myself being one of them. Ayame had volunteered as well, but Akiro seemed content with where he was, with a solidified reishi sphere thrice as big as his head.

Impressive.

Although elf-lady did offer to give me imaging tips to help with the formation of the sphere, I decided to attempt Byakurai instead. If more marks could be obtained, why not give it a shot?

_Remember, Shiro, don't build up too much power._

Right, right. One more question.

_What is it?_

How do I use Eishohaki?

_Chant the incantation in your mind, while actively directing the reiatsu as you would if you were speaking out loud._

Oh…I get it. So when we speak out loud, it's just the thoughts that matter.

_Something like that, yes._

Great… Now how did the words go again?

I ran through the incantation with elf-lady once more. Since it was an exam, I wanted to get it right.

Even though things got a little more exciting, it was still pretty dull as three of them picked a beginner's binding spell, Sai. It was the first spell of Bakudo. Now, if there were some lights or signs of energy flow, it would've perked me up a little, but no, there was absolutely nothing besides the binding of the instructor's arms behind his back. What was even lamer, two out of three of them failed to completely seal his arms, resulting in controlled freedom of movement.

Ayame had snickered at the two failures, and didn't even look remotely impressed by the only successful attempt. Personally, it wasn't awe-inspiring to begin with, so I wasn't impressed as well. Out of respect, I clapped alongside the others. As with Ayame and I, Akiro looked bored as well.

"Next!" Instructor Maeda, who had just broken free from the Sai, called out. Despite his small frame, he had a very powerful voice which could probably reach to the Hakuda room.

Without any hesitation or signs of nervousness, Ayame stepped forward. She calmly stated to Instructor Aiko that she would be invoking Bakudo number nine, Horin. Knowing Ayame, this would definitely be a good show.

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat!" She chanted, holding out her palm. Even the amateurs in the room could feel it; reishi was being drawn to and around her.

She drew back her arm and cried out the release words.

"Bakudo number nine, Horin!"

At her call, two streams of orange energy swirled around her fingers, one on each hand. With a practised swing, she shot out one jet of light at her target.

Me.

"What the hell!?" I yelled at her. I managed to shunpo away in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding the unpredictable tendrils from touching me, but a warning would've been nice.

As if she predicted my shunpo, she swung her front arm back in a horizontal line, sending the scintillant stream at me. At the same time, she swung her other arm backwards, and Akiro, who wasn't expecting it, suddenly had coils of orange energy tightened around him.

She got him _good_.

Well, I wasn't planning on sticking around to let that fluorescent tendril catch me either, so I shunpo-ed to the end of the room, out of the spell's reach.

…Only to find that Ayame had again predicted my move and the same tendril was already waiting at the back. The moment it made contact with me, it swirled around my body as it did with Akiro and tightened. It didn't hurt, but it didn't feel very comfortable either.

Oh, I get it. This was her revenge for our interference earlier.

_Obviously._

Ayame joined her arms together, bringing Akiro and I back to back. Surprisingly, the Kido joined itself, the pattern on its tendril changing a little, fusing to create a fascinating fractal-like structure.

And now, Akiro and I were literally joined at the hip.

I took a quick look around the room and noticed that every remaining candidate was staring slack-jawed at the event that just transpired. Even the instructor was a little surprised by her ability. Her Kido accuracy matched her Hoho precision. The culprit stood there with a smug smile on her face.

"Well done." He congratulated her, flashing at her a quick approving smile. She nodded and took her seat, leaving Akiro and I bound together.

"Next?" He turned to the rest of us. Finding no hands in the air, he prompted once more. "No one?"

I couldn't even raise my arms. The seal was way too tight. I could attempt breaking it as the teacher did, but…

_If your reiatsu is stronger or equal to hers, it'll come off._

And how do I do that, elf-lady?

_Focus on the threads that bind you. _She yawned. _Figure out the rest yourself. It's time for my nap._

…What.

So my zanpakuto spirit takes naps. Just great. Focus on the threads, huh?

I closed my eyes and allowed my instincts to take over. Somehow, through some kind of third eye, I could really see the thin spiritual threads wrapped around my body. They were a glistening pale yellow and seemed to conduct electrical waves of the same colour.

Focus on the threads, not the electric.

I channelled my reiatsu to a thread, generating an equal amount of blue waves of electricity that flowed in an opposing direction. As they cancelled each other out, the threads no longer had the reishi pressure as reinforcement and dissipated upon my slightest movement. I opened my eyes.

My chains were gone.

"Me." I informed, getting up. All eyes seemed to be on me though, and I automatically searched for the icy blue pair that I knew. They showed no surprise, as if she expected me to break free from her hold.

I turned to the instructor.

_Shiro, are you really going to attempt Eishohaki?_ So she wasn't sleeping after all.

Yeah, I am.

_I advise against it. You need to have complete focus._

But I can get more points, right?

_That is likely._

Then I'm gonna try it. Let's do this.

**Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm.**

I held out my hand and the familiar sensation tingling around my palm flowed into my finger. It definitely felt weaker, but it helped with the power control issue.

**The flash of the first spear marks the beginning of battle!**

Time to decide what to shoot it at. I scanned the room for an object, and noticed a wide array of targets the end of the room. Perfect.

I curled my fingers. According to the rhythm, it was now or never.

"Hado number four, Byakurai." The last syllable escaped my lips softly. No point shouting in front of the ladies.

The blinding jet which flew from my fingers seemed smaller but faster than before. Within moments, it blew up the fourth target from the left directly at the centre. Bulls-eye!

Or it would have been, but I was aiming for the third from the left, meaning I missed by a whole target.

Well, no one needed to know that, so I kept my mouth shut.

_Not too shabby. It probably looked pretty good too, since they're unaware of your intended target._

I thought you were supposed to be _sleeping_?

_Um, yeah… about that…_

What about it?

_I'll tell you some other time._

…That's just annoying. And irritating. And every other equivalent synonym.

_Believe me, Shiro. I know._

...

I just realised something. The whole room was clapping at my demonstration.

"Well done. That was an exceptional display of Byakurai and Eishohaki." Instructor Aiko praised.

"Thank you." I replied, moving to take a seat next to Ayame, who was in turn sitting next to Akiro. She was halfway explaining something when I arrived at my spot. Akiro prompted me to take a seat next to them, a suggestion I gladly accepted.

"Perfect timing." She remarked. "I'm trying to explain Eishohaki to him."

"Oh. Carry on then." I said, feigning a little interest in what she was saying.

"I was thinking- oh, never mind." She turned to Akiro. "Eishohaki is…"

I was barely paying attention to her description of the technique. I had another question to ask my zanpakuto spirit.

_What is it?_ You know, I think she has the patience of a saint. If anyone were to ask me this many questions, I would've smacked them on the head many, many times.

Why was the Byakurai I fired faster than normal?

_You hit the Byakurai's sweet spot._

Sweet spot?

_Every Kido, especially Hado, has its sweet spot in power. If you overload it, the destructive capability increases. However, it has the possibilities of exploding in your face if it goes too far. On the other hand, a lack of power would cause the spell to fizzle and fail. Getting it just right results in the exact way it was intended to be used. At this stage, the Kido is usually at its strongest._

I see. So bigger is not always better, huh?

_That's what I was trying to tell you from the start!_

"Isn't that right, Shiro?" Ayame turned to me. Startled, I pulled myself out from my conversation with my zanpakuto. Needless to say, I was completely unaware of what she was talking about.

"Yeah." Since the question itself was rhetorical, answering blindly was a fairly safe escape route.

It worked.

* * *

We were sent to the assembly hall (the area where we first imprinted the cards) to wait for the results to be calculated from the individual scores received from the instructors. Ayame, Akiro and I met up with Yosuke, and after a brief introduction, we dived straight into conversation.

Yosuke was the favourite from group three that Shuhei mentioned earlier. Who would've guessed?

The four of us seemed to click, and well, it marked the beginning of a promising group of students, four of the five favourites from the West Gate exam.

A group which would later take the Soul Society by storm.

…

Okay, perhaps that was a little too much drama.

_You think?_

We continued our little chat until the three lieutenants entered the room with papers in hand.

"Everyone into their groups, now!" Omaeda instructed.

The candidates quickly assembled in their respective groups. Yosuke gave a quick wave before departing for the third group.

"Listen up! We're going to read out the results now. For those of you with scores above 700, you are to take three steps forward. Candidates getting below 300 are to leave the room. The rest are to stay as you are."

They began reading out the names and scores in ascending order. There were about 60 people who were present, and around 10 of them got a score below 300. On the other hand, only 10 people had scores above 700 thus far.

"Ayame Mochizuki, 849." Shuhei called out.

Said person stepped forward. This was already expected.

"Akiro Sanada, 856."

He also stepped forward.

"Shiro Aragaki, 902." He looked up and grinned at me, the action speaking volumes.

Whoa, that's high. I took three steps forward myself, joining Ayame and Akiro, along with 10 other people.

"Keiji Osato, 931."

That's just insane. He must've been really good to get such a high score. I looked around for the guy who achieved higher than I did. He was standing at the end of the row, looking smug and pleased with himself. He looked like a weirdo, what with the afro on his head. Funky.

"And the highest score of the West Gate exam. Yosuke Shibuya, 972."

What. The. Hell.

* * *

A/N: Sups. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I got stuck halfway, as usual.

Anyways, I've chosen a regular interval to update this story. I might upload before, making it two chapters a week, but for now I'll update the story every Sunday, so there'll always be one chapter per week.

Thanks for the reviews so far, and please continue doing so.

**They would be extremely appreciated! =D**


	10. Prologue Complete: The Entrance

A/N: Yo, the story isn't dead. And I'm going implement shoutouts for reviews!

it's pronounced 'lowlight' : Um, what _is_ Shibata? And yeah, there's a reason for Yosuke scoring high. You'll see.

Heir of Schiffer : Yarp, he definitely isn't the best. In fact, at this point he can't keep up with Ichigo at the west gate for the first time. Still, that's miles above the rest of the n00b Shinigami. :) And yes, I've thought up a name for the zanpakuto. Simple though. My kind of name.

randomguy24 : It had to be awesome. It's the most important part of every chapter after all.

Oh yeah, there's a new system for thoughts.

_**This is the font for elf-lady.**_

_This is for Shiro's conversational thoughts._

**This is Shiro's inner hollow, if he ever appears.**

This is storytelling and commenting thoughts.

It may seem confusing at first, but you'll get used to it. Now that that's all done and over, another new thing is also up. I have chosen an opening song that I'd imagine would go well with the feel of the story. As each arc ends, a new song is chosen. Naturally, there is an ending theme as well. Now that that's over with as well, let's get the show- story- on the road.

* * *

_Opening Song: Karma - Bump of Chicken

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_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OCs thus far.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

After getting over the initial shock of Yosuke's exam results (_which was admittedly only a few seconds_), I started paying attention to Shuhei, whom was in charge of addressing the above-700 group. He cleared his throat once before beginning his speech.

"You are all in the Advanced Class. Simply put, you're better than the others. Assemble at the West Gate tomorrow morning." He paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully before continuing. "That is all. Dismissed."

What.

_**You'd think that he'd be a little more congratulatory. It**_**is**_**the advanced class, after all.**_

_Precisely my point._

A few of our newly-formed batch seemed to have slightly crestfallen looks on their faces, obviously expecting something more, and a few girls (_probably Shuhei fans_) wore expressions of what looked like utter disappointment. Kinda sad really, as considering from what I'd seen so far, Shuhei had the emotional capabilities of a stick.

A fairly animated, mischievous stick.

_**Um, what?**_

_Sorry. I don't even know what I'm thinking about anymore. Someone help me!_

"Hey."

My desperate mock plea for assistance was somewhat answered as I was pulled out the confusion of my inner thoughts by none other than Akiro. I turned around to face him, and I saw a hint of a smile on his usually serious face.

"What is it?" I asked, naturally curious about his behaviour. I hadn't really known him for a long time (_heck, we met this morning_), but long enough to know that he was the type of person who wasted no actions.

"Glad we're in the same class." He offered a handshake along with a quiet smile, and I knew that I had found a dependable friend right there and then.

It goes without saying that I accepted the gesture of friendship.

"Same here."

* * *

Since I had nowhere to spend the night, both Akiro and Yosuke offered to bunk me in at their respective places. I wasn't really tired, however, and I ultimately declined both invitations. Akiro nodded while Yosuke just shrugged at my polite refusal. They both said their goodbyes and began to walk off in completely separate directions.

Before either of them managed three steps, my stomach decided that it was of utmost importance to growl loudly at that particular moment in time.

Feeling my ears burning, I shunpo-ed onto the overhead roof. I heard Yosuke's amused snicker while Akiro simply covered his mouth, presumably hiding a smile. They resumed their walking and soon enough both of them disappeared into the night fog.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I whirled around to see Ayame slowly and deliberately insert a rice cracker into her mouth. My stomach could only feel agony as I watched her chew on the snack costively. Her eyes were bright with laughter and I knew with absolute certainty that she had heard my stomach as well.

What a sadist she was.

"Want one?" She asked, offering the bag of rice crackers that she held in her hand.

I take my previous comment back. She's a life- no, soulsaver.

* * *

We sat on the edge of the same roof, munching on her rice crackers while trading words. Save for a few lanterns here and there, the entire district remained mostly unlit, leaving the town with a serene feeling. The fog around us was thick and moist, the breeze a little chilly and the atmosphere calm and relaxing. It was… pleasant, to say the least.

"I knew we would both be in the same class." She said, after a long moment of silence. She popped a cracker into her mouth and chewed slowly, savouring the subtle flavour of the snack.

I chose to deliver the corniest, cheesiest line in the history of mankind in the most dramatic fashion as a response. Without another moment's hesitation, I got to my feet, struck a pose and pointed to the sky in an exaggerated manner. I took in a deep breath.

"It _must_ be fate!"

Ayame, who had been watching me with rapt attention, burst into sudden, hysterical laughter.

Score one for Shiro!

I reclaimed my seat next to her, smiling at her reaction. She was still in a fit of giggles from my impromptu… performance, and those giggles were definitely infectious. I had to resist the urge to laugh alongside her, as you should never (_and I mean_ never) laugh at your own corny phrases. It's much more effective if it's deadpanned, after all. Being able to say such absurdities with a straight face is indeed a brilliant talent, sought-after by every ladies' man out there.

No, I am _not_ a ladies' man. I just have the skills of one… maybe.

_**Do not kid yourself**_.

Ouch.

* * *

"So as I was saying, I knew we would both be in the same class." Ayame repeated, her hands on the roof edge. Her fits of laughter had died down after a while and the seriousness had returned to her voice. I couldn't see her face at all; her raven locks had fallen all over the side of it, almost covering it completely. But I didn't need to see her face to know what she was saying.

She chuckled quietly to herself. "As corny as it seems, fate probably did have a hand in our meeting." She turned to me, and for an instant, I saw her icy blue eyes. They were guarded, her emotions tightly controlled by an inner discipline. In a way, I admired her self-control, and yet, it was so sad.

"Heh." She turned her face to the other side. "Just listen to me, rambling off to an incomplete stranger." She mumbled in a self-mocking tone.

I simply shrugged. Her entire attitude seemed to have undergone a vast change from the morning, and a majority of her confidence was gone. She needed some encouragement at that moment. That was for sure.

"You know, there was someone in the world of the living who once said, 'There are no strangers in the world, only friends we haven't met as of yet.'" I pulled out a William Butler Yeats, hoping to cheer her up a little.

Ayame turned to me with a tired smile on her face, before getting up. Her confidence seemed to have returned to her, and she stood there with her hair blowing in the wind.

"Friends we haven't met?" She looked aside. "What a load of trash."

She turned around and sighed heavily.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

And she simply vanished, leaving me alone in the darkness of the night. In silence, I remained on the roof, reflecting on the day's happenings. The clouds above parted, leaving a clear view of the full moon, shimmering with a pale light. The stars accompanying the silvery moon lacked their usual lustre tonight, however. Perhaps it was just the pale moonlight outshining the distant stars, or maybe the stars themselves were burning out.

_They say that the eyes are the windows to a person's soul. But tell me; if the windows are locked and shielded by a curtain, how does one see into another's soul?_

… _**I don't know.**_

_I thought so._

…

_Heh, it's been so hectic lately, I almost forgot I was searching for Kairi._

_**You shouldn't lose sight of your objectives, Shiro.**_

_I guess so… Hey, what do you think she's doing now?_

_**I wouldn't know. The last time I saw her was the last time you did, and I know only as much as you do about your life.**_

_I thought you had some kind of sixth-sense or something. But I guess not._

_**We'll just have to keep on searching, then.**_

_Yeah, I suppose that's all we can do. Even through life and death, we'll find her._

At that moment I made two promises; one to myself and another to Kairi, wherever she was. I would find her and we'd finally be together once more after our seven years of separation.

It was a promise I intended to keep.

* * *

Twilight reigned over the sky, and an explosion of colour enveloped the Rukongai. The stars faded into the midnight blue emptiness, as did the moon itself, giving way to the rising of the sun. The breeze from before had turned into a gentle zephyr of cool air, carrying with it a chain of golden-brown leaves.

I had about two hours before I had to meet up with the others at the West Gate, so I got up and began my walk there. On the way, I passed by an all too familiar ramen store with an equally familiar smell wafting out from it. I was broke, but hey, maybe I would strike the jackpot and encounter one of the three lieutenants I knew.

I entered the establishment searching for faces that I recognized, but to my utmost disappointment, the store was empty with the exception of an old man behind the counter preparing ingredients for the day. He handled the cooking knife with an expertise one wouldn't expect from an old man, chopping each ingredient rapidly and evenly. After he was finished with that particular set of ingredients, he looked up and noticed me at the entrance. The crinkly eyes and warm smile on his face immediately made me feel welcomed in his shop.

"Welcome. Whaddya wanna eat?" He inquired, gesturing to the menu on the counter.

Although I was hungry (_again_), I had no one to freeload from, so I just shook my head politely.

"I don't really have the cash for it, and I was looking for someone I knew." I explained.

He took a closer look at my face and seemed to recognize me.

"I know you. You're that guy whom was with the lieutenants, right?" He asked, and began chopping another set of ingredients. Spring onion, if I remember properly.

I just nodded. This guy had to have good memory if he could remember a one-time customer.

"You have an uncommon look. It's easy to remember spiky blue hair, but top it off with red stripes and you're a memory beacon for all to see." He continued. "Plus, you were in here with the lieutenants."

That makes sense. I keep forgetting that my outwards appearance had changed drastically since I entered the Soul Society.

"Well, since it's still early and you're my first customer of the day, so why not have a bowl of ramen?" He asked. "It's on the house."

_Score!_

But it would be rather impolite to say that out loud, so I opted for a more mannered answer.

I took a seat at the counter and gave him a polite smile.

"If you insist."

* * *

I left the store a very satisfied customer. His ramen was definitely some of the best that I'd eaten. I glanced at the signboard above the shop, which read 'Yakitate Ra-men!', reminding me of some bread anime I watched while I was alive. Well, the ramen was the real thing, so I guess the copied name is excusable.

Dawn had approached, so I wasted no time going to the meeting area. On the way, I recognized a few of my soon-to-be classmates. One particular one I recognized was 'fro head, but I kinda forgot his name. Funkeh!

Taking longer strides, I soon arrived at the West Gate to see quite a number of people already present. I looked around and spotted Yosuke and Akiro conversing with one another, but as I suspected, it was Yosuke who contributed most of the words said. I walked up to them and overheard the last bit of Yosuke's endless prattling.

"-and everything went BOOM!" He appeared to have delivered a punch line, as he started laughing loudly. Akiro gave a quiet chortle at the joke, before noticing me approaching them.

"Hey."

Ah, Akiro. One word is all you'll ever need to identify yourself.

"Shiro's here. How're you doing today, my main man? Sleep well? Ate well?" An endless stream of random questions directed at me came gushing out of his mouth.

"How'd your night go?"

…

"Don't you ever change clothes?"

…..

"Hey, did you see the fireflies last night?"

Okay, now I know he's just testing my patience, so I ignored him and turned to Akiro for some rational conversation. Akiro, however, was smirking at Yosuke with his hand held out.

"I told you he wouldn't break. Now give it back." Akiro demanded triumphantly.

Yosuke sighed, regretfully handing Akiro a loaf of bread, which Akiro gladly reclaimed. He broke off a quarter from it, the crust of the bread tearing with a mouth-watering sound, while the white insides of the bread were soft and fluffy.

"Want some?" He offered the broken bit to me.

_Score!_

I just ate ramen, but I don't say no to free food. In fact, that's the third time I had free food today.

_**Freeloading glutton.**_

_Hey, keep your opinions to yourself!_

I gobbled up the inviting piece of bread quickly. It tasted good, _really_ good, made with the craftsmanship of a master. Or maybe that was because I was hungry again.

I finished up the last crumb and sighed happily.

"Thanks. That was good stuff." I remarked.

"Thank you." Akiro said, smiling at my food antics.

Wait, why is _he_ saying thanks for? Unless he-

"You baked it yourself?" I asked, sounding slightly incredulous even to my own ears, a question to which he nodded.

"Well, it was good stuff." I repeated. Hey, good things are good things.

"Indeed." Ayame said, finishing the last bit of _her_ quarter, causing me to jump.

I was so caught up by the taste of the bread, I hadn't noticed Ayame arrive. And she came just in the nick of time too, because Jidanbo began to raise the gigantic gate a few seconds later. After about half a minute, the gate was fully raised, and the first wave of students walked past.

_**So we're going through the gate once more?**_

_Yes, elf-lady._

_**I know it seems foolish to ask, but are you ready, Shiro?**_

_Why do you keep asking that?_

_**Just answer the question.**_

I followed the rest of the students through the gate, where some MiB (_Men in Black)_, traditionally disguised, of course, were already waiting to take us to the academy.

_I'm always ready; you should know that by now. Now let's go kick some ass.

* * *

_

_Closing Song: Saikou no Kataomoi - Tainaka Sachi

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_

A/N: Arrgh late late late late late! I'm so embarassed. After I said I would update every week, I skipped a whole three weeks of updating. I've been run-down by exams and given the finger by writer's block! Sorry! .

Anyway, this chapter is a little more balanced, in my opinion, though it lacked a little action. :P

And as always, _please_ please **please** _PLEASE_PLEASE **PLEASE**

**REVIEW. They would be extremely appreciated.**


	11. Arc I: School Life

A/N: Aaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm back, folks. After four cold months of slacking and not bringing myself to start writing due to the problems of plot details, I finally managed to work it out. So Arc I begins!

But first! Shoutouts for reviews...Though I'm four months late, I hope you'll forgive me.

Heir of Schiffer : There will be more. It _is_ OC-centric after all. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

it's pronounced 'lowlight' : Right... The cute lil' guy. I remembered him as Yuichi. And thanks. =D

randomguy24 : I do realize it was clichéd, but it was just so tempting to throw it in =D And yeah, there was a little problem with the format, so I had to edit it a bit.

_**On the side note, could you guys tell me when's the best time to post up new chapters, and what time you follow? Thanks.**_

Thanks for the reviews so far, guys. It's helping me to keep on writing. If possible, keep reviewing xD

* * *

**_Opening Song: Karma - Bump of Chicken_**

_

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_

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OCs thus far.

* * *

Chapter 11

Oh, we kicked some ass, alright. It's been about two weeks since the entrance exam, and things had been going well. For one, I was having fun watching Yosuke tease Ayame about her newly-discovered obsession with Captain Soifon while Akiro was leaning on the wall reading something quietly. We had a regular meeting spot, which was actually a workshop provided for student use. The minimum requirement for a group workshop was three students, so we lapped up the opportunity and requested for one.

"So what if I'm a fan of Captain Soifon?" Ayame was definitely stressed about it. Just yesterday, Yosuke had conducted a thorough search of her sling bag she always carried around only to be greeted by dozens of pictures of Captain Soifon, the captain of the 2nd Division. They were everywhere, in her textbooks, her file, her notes, and even on the inner walls of the bag.

"Ayame, at this point, you don't call it fandom." Yosuke explicated cynically. "You call it obsession."

Personally, I agree with him. Not wise to say it out loud though.

_**Smart move.**_

This was the typical life we led at the academy. Early in the morning, we would get up and attend class. After that, we had a lunch break till afternoon, and back to class again. After four, we were given free time to do whatever we wanted. A majority of our time was spent in this very workshop, which Akiro had decorated. For a guy, he really had a good sense of taste. Of course, Ayame had to ruin everything and put up a huge poster of Captain Soifon on one of the walls. I only dread to imagine her room.

Obviously, the girls and guys had been placed in separate dorms of eight people each, with every room having four double-decker beds. Yosuke, Akiro and I stuck together, naturally. Yosuke chose to bunk above my bed while Akiro chose the bed on my left. The double bed on my right was unclaimed, leaving us plenty of space to dump our stuff. Surprisingly, for a guy's dorm, everything was neat and organized, with the exception of Yosuke's bed.

Anyway, back to the workshop. It was created specifically to give us room for private practices, like sparring, and it contained a stove for cooking as well. We were free to place our own decorum, but since we didn't bring much, we just took the extra bed from the guy's dorm for workshop relaxation.

"It's NOT!" Ayame shouted.

Not very relaxing now, though. Still, it's amusing, so it's worth it.

"Keep it down, guys." Akiro said, surprising everyone in the room, including myself. Interventions with the general conversation were rare for him. "We all don't want to get any detentions for disturbing the other students again, do we?"

Detention. Right. I don't even want to think about what happened.

"That was because Ayame started insulting the other students. Then they insulted her back. So I insulted them back. As a result they started insulting me as well. And-"

"Look, we all know what a happened, Yosuke. We were all there." Ayame cut in, rolling her eyes.

And the bickering began once again. Akiro just sighed and shook his head, his eyes wandering back to the book. I, on the other hand, opted to watch their quarrel, once in a while adding my two cents worth.

Such was life.

* * *

"Class, settle down!" A teacher clothed in a uniform that was similar to the instructors that facilitated our entrance exams. He was Gengoro Onabara, a towering man of uh…modest proportions… that headed the advanced class. A man of such physical stature often inspired confidence in many of the students. The confidence of fear.

_**More like the fear of being sat on.**_

_Touché, elf-lady._

And it was true. Many of the students in the class were more afraid of his physical prowess than his words. I was among the few of those whom did not fear his excessive weight.

_Hey, elf-lady. If you don't mind, could you take notes for me? I'm not in the mood to pay attention._

_**Shiro, you know it's not good for you to be daydreaming in lessons. Give me one good reason why I should help you.**_

I groaned outwardly. I could barely focus on the sound of his coarse voice anymore. He was lecturing something about the history of the Soul Society.

As in, come on, history? Some students would actually commit _suicide_ in the world of the living just to avoid the subject. Oh, the joy they would feel when they find Gengoro Onabara was just as willing to teach them as the facilitators of their torture.

_You know, you could just tell me about the history of the Soul Society. Considering that all zanpakuto have certain advantages, I'm pretty sure you know all about it._

_**That **_**is **_**true.**_

_So why won't you?_

_**I'm lazy to.**_

…

I had nothing to say to that. Since we are one and the same, it implied that my laziness came round the corner to bite me in the behi-

"Hey, Shiro!"

_Who dares derail my train of thought…_

"You're spacing out again."

I blinked. The voice came from the person seated on my right, who was none other than Yosuke. Even in class we sat together. Ayame sat to my left, separated from Yosuke since we found out from experience that the two of them should _never_ be placed together in class. They were simply incompatible people, and tended to cause a ruckus if they were side by side. And thus, this was the sitting arrangement for whatever class we were in together.

I blinked again. The four of us were beginning to catch onto each other's quirks over the short span of time. Ayame was bored most of the time, and loved to start an argument with anyone she assumed was beneath her, which was, of course, pretty much the entire class population. The sole exceptions were Akiro, myself, and a few other girls.

Notice how Yosuke wasn't included in that list?

This gathered animosity from all the students in the advanced class, save the aforementioned girls who still dared to approach her. Even so, she didn't seem to mind it at all. In fact, she seemed to enjoy her infamy.

Yosuke, on the other hand, had earned the reputation of the class clown, exceptional, perhaps, but still a clown anyway. His antics in class made him famous school-wide, so much that I often overheard the sixth years opposite our dorm laughing at his exploits.

_**I wouldn't really call them exploits, though.**_

Point taken. The word 'prank' would be a more appropriate term. His prank on the first day of school had spread all over the school like wildfire. Everyone knew him as the trickster, and damn right they were. It was a different kind of infamy from Ayame's but one he enjoyed anyway.

Out of the corner of my left eye, I saw Akiro paying rapt attention to Instructor Onabara. He was now known as the caretaker of our band of delinquents. How I fit into the group, I had no idea.

_**Maybe it's because Yosuke framed you for that toilet paper prank.**_

Right… that stupid TP prank. He had completely toilet papered the dorm next to ours last week in about three minutes, with shunpo of course, and I got blamed for it. The reason people actually believed him? I had no idea. He must've made a convincing argument though, because I never even had the chance to protest my innocence before the teacher came in and gave me a detention slip.

Well, Akiro definitely deserved the title of caretaker. He was probably the only sane one in our quartet, not to mention the only one who actually bothers to restrict the noise to a minimum.

And the reason I exempted myself from the sane list? Simple. Instead of trying to control the two hurricanes of our group, I added oil to the fire. How oil is supposed to respond to hurricanes, I had no idea, but suffice to say, it didn't respond well. I enjoy watching those two quarrelling like little children, and thus, I egg them on so-

"Dude, you're spacing out again."

I blinked once, then once more. I've got to stop doing that.

* * *

"So why do you space out so much anyways?" Yosuke asked during our last class for the day, which was Hoho.

I immediately launched into a full-fledged explanation about the moon and its phases intervening with the elements of our soul and thoughts, spinning a story out of complete yarn and incomplete facts. Yosuke, no stranger to the little game, countered with a similarly detailed explanation that was equally bullshit.

_**Watch your language, Shiro.**_

Elf-lady still tended to do that, though it had noticeably lessened since our first encounter. Twice before, when she was in shock, I heard one or two words that wouldn't dare come out of my mouth. That feathery hypocrite.

_**I heard that.**_

_It was meant to be heard._

Hoho training took place in the open field outside the building due to the fact that practicing the technique itself required a big space. Unsurprisingly, many people who were beginners fall down face first in the mud.

_**It is a familiar sight indeed.**_

_Oh, quiet, you._

Fortunately, none of our group embarrassed themselves publicly like that, though I would've liked to have seen Yosuke face down in the mud. Then stuff a little mud in his mouth for the toilet paper prank. Oh yes, that would be nice.

_Unfortunately_, Yosuke was an expert in shunpo. He was slightly slower than Ayame, but still faster than me. But then again, what else was expected from the top scorer of the Entrance Exams?

Akiro didn't disappoint the instructors either. He had paid close attention to the theory part of it, which a majority of the class had ignored, and had performed a short but perfect shunpo on his first try. After he had gotten the hang of it, he became almost as fast as I was.

Those who already knew how to shunpo were bored out of our wits after the few splats of mud-loving people. Watching someone fall into the mud time and time again could only get old after awhile. These few people were the other top scorers in the exam. Yosuke had placed first, Funky came in second and I tied with another student for third.

That student was glaring at me now.

Ikuro Aokawa.

That guy had something to pick with me, for some reason. Ever since we met in class, he'd been practically radiating hostility towards me.

He noticed my observing him and looked away pointedly. I didn't understand him. There was no reason for him to hate me. I didn't do anything to him at all, and yet he was hostile. It reminded me of a fictional vampire story I read while I was alive.

_**Wrong move**_.

I struggled to hide an involuntary shudder. A majority of the story character was already there. He was popular among the ladies, yet he made himself unavailable. He was, admittedly, better-looking than I was, and he even had his own family, figuratively speaking.

I wonder if you could call a gang 'family'?

… Who am I kidding? I treat my own group of friends like family now.

Well, hopefully Ikuro wasn't a vampire, and he didn't swing _that_ way. I dread to imagine the outcome of that possibility.

Wrong move indeed_**.**_

_**

* * *

**_

I walked along the corridor on the way to our workshop. I just had a startling revelation, courtesy of the bulletin board that I just found out about. Our exam scores had been posted at the corner of the huge piece of styrofoam. Before, the results I had were from word of mouth. Meaning, I just found a whole bunch of numerals that I didn't like.

Really, he was beginning to irritate me. I just found out that not only were our overall scores the same, but our individual scores were almost identical as well, give or take two marks.

No wonder he's rather aggravated. Now I understood how he felt…a little. I twisted the handle of the great doors as I walked into the workshop.

"Hey," I was immediately welcomed by Akiro's routine greeting.

I was also immediately taken aback. Our workshop had been redecorated, and now there were posters of Captain Soifon on two of the eight walls.

"What's going on?" I asked, remotely curious about the redecoration.

"Ayame decided on getting a new poster of her favourite Captain, and Yosuke brought in a couch. Since they were both insistent on keeping them around, I also decided to add my own touch."

And apparently, his touch was to repaint the whole workshop. The solid white stone walls were now painted red and beige.

I have to admit, he chose the colours well. My only question is how he managed to do it in one day, and with class, no less.

* * *

Two days had passed since I the workshop had been redecorated. Today was the day that every captain and lieutenant had to assist or teach a certain class. Everyone save the Head Captain, who was presumably busy with administration.

There were six compulsory classes that each student had to take, namely Zanjutsu I, Hoho I, Hakuda I, Kido I, History of the Soul Society, and General Skills. As long as they didn't clash with the other classes, students were free to select as many electives as they wanted, and we were required to submit the list of classes today.

Surprisingly, there were a whole lot of electives to choose from. Each combat discipline of the Shinigami had an intermediate and advanced class, known as II and III, not to mention there were cultural classes as well. One class renowned for its sheer number of participants was the calligraphy class, taught by the Captain of the Fifth Division, Sosuke Aizen. There were so many students that some of the class had to sit outside.

Compared to that, the rest of the classes were meagre and unfilled with the exception of Zanpakuto Meditation. If I recall correctly, that class was the one that Rangiku wanted to assist in.

Either way, after I discussed it with my zanpakuto, I decided on a total of seven electives, those being Zanjutsu III, Kido II and III, Hoho II and III, Zanpakuto Meditation and Writing, the last two for the sole purpose of contacting Rangiku and Shuhei respectively. Although I _was_ learning valuable skills here, I was also wasting time that could be spent searching for Kairi. I needed to see if I could ask either one about leaving the Soul Society.

_**That is good. Keep the objective in sight.**_

Zanpakuto Meditation was a useless class for me. The class was filled with quiet people, half of them actually concentrating on reaching their zanpakuto, and the other half sleeping. The purpose of the class was to try and communicate with the zanpakuto in the inner world. While the instructor of the class _did_ mention that sleeping could allow the zanpakuto to reach them in their inner mind, some took advantage of it and slept without the intent of doing so. It was a legitimate excuse, after all.

Having already awakened my zanpakuto spirit, I was miles ahead of the class. We were already communicating everyday, and I did venture into my inner mind whenever I slept. I was beginning to gradually understand which part of my soul she represented, besides the sword.

_When do you think we'll get a chance to speak with her?_

By her, I was referring to Rangiku. She actually managed to blackmail her way (at least, that's what I heard) into teaching this class. How, I don't even want to know.

_**It depends. You could stay behind after class to talk to her, since there is lunch after this.**_

_Well, that might work._

Unsurprisingly, Rangiku didn't have to do much, although once in a while, she did have to keep the noisy ones quiet. Honestly, anyone could take the job, since having a lieutenant or captain around intimidated most people into submission. In fact, the class was probably noisier than if another person had taken the class. From what I've heard, half of the male student population chose this class because she was there.

I could hardly blame them though. I was one of them myself, though I probably had different reasons from them. But whatever it was, I had to follow the class for now. I closed my eyes and felt the inviting pull of elf-lady.

_**Time to visit your mind again, Shiro.**_

_**

* * *

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_****__Closing Song: Saikou no Kataomoi - Tainaka Sachi_

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* * *

_

A/N: Yeah. I've been putting off this story due to the lack of fillers I could come up with, not to mention other things as well. But whatever it was, I'm back now, so yeah.

This chapter is more of a filler than anything else, but it's important anyways. Action will come soon, don't worry about that.

**As usual, please review. It would be extremely appreciated. =D**


	12. Prelude of the Sword

A/N: Yo, I'm back. I decided to do this chapter relatively quickly because... well, I felt like it.

Shoutout Time!

Heir of Schiffer : Hey, hey. I'm really glad you're still reviewing the story. To be honest, none of my chapters thus far were really fillers, but it's in between those plotlines that are really hard to fill. Most of the stuff are made up on the spot . Time skips are being thrown as much as I can without skipping vital parts of the story, but from the looks of things, they aren't going very well thus far. And yes, I'll try to be faster. This chapter count? xD

randomguy24 : Yo, bro. I've heard lots of these Mary Sues and Gary Stus but I've yet to understand what it truly means. Google don't help much. Avoiding stu-ism is one of my main concerns, but you can't avoid something you don't see coming, unless it's heard. Do tell me if I'm getting a little too ahead of myself in terms of stu-ism. xD And yes, I understand that four months was long, and I apologize for that, but I kinda lost the mood for writing halfway. Sorry xD Anyway, as with Heir of Schiffer, I'm glad you're still with me. ;P

And with those important messages done, let's get the show on the road!

* * *

**_Opening Song: Karma - Bump of Chicken_**

**_

* * *

_**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OCs thus far.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

My mindscape had undergone so many changes since I'd first entered that it was almost impossible to keep track of them all. The vast blue of clouds and emptiness had transformed into an empty floating island. How it floated, I still didn't want to know, but the change was welcome even though I had overcome my acrophobia. You kinda lose your fear of heights after you realize no matter what happens you can't fall to your death in your mind.

Some of that fearfulness had also evaporated in real life, as the reishi solidification technique was always available, but an early fear could not dissipate completely that quickly.

"It _is_ actually possible to die in your mind, you know. In fact, it's quite common," elf-lady had remarked, somewhat amused, when I voiced it out some nights ago. "It's the way hollows are made. When a mental or spiritual entity takes over, it has dominance until the other one decides to fight for control. While the strong willed human minds that turn into hollows actually survive, the weak willed ones do not have that chance."

I nodded, recalling the battle with my inner hollow. Until I actually decided to fight, my Hollow had exerted its control over my body. Silly as it was the way I won, any advantage was enough to tip the balance against two equal sides.

"Actually, there were those who can successfully turn into hollows while they were still alive and revert back, though the frequency of that happening dropped since the end of the Nordic era, as you humans call it," elf-lady said, dropping that little piece of information.

The Nordic era meant…

"The Viking Age?" I guessed, hoping to extract more knowledge from her.

"That is correct. You humans call them Vikings. They, on the other hand, called themselves Eignask, but it doesn't matter anymore. The rate of it occurring at this time period is less than a fraction, and a small one at that." Yup, it was a bombshell of information, but as she said, a relatively useless one.

Through this method, I had learned many things from elf-lady, though most of the subjects were completely irrelevant. What I'd come to realize, however, was that questions and answers were the foundations for building the bonds between entities. It was also the reason for the development of my mind, but elf-lady had said that I had a long way to go before it was fully complete. According to her, until the island was finished, I wouldn't be able to access her full powers.

Still, I had to admit that visiting her in my mind ranked among the top five ways to spend my time. Normally, after the questions that I wanted to ask had run out, she invited me to fly alongside her, bestowing me a pair of blue wings. The feeling of soaring in the air was exhilarating, and as clichéd as it sounded, it felt free.

It was a feeling words could not explain.

* * *

I opened my eyes only to find that I was the only student left in class. As luck would have it, Rangiku was still there, waiting for everyone to be aware before she left. It was probably just an excuse for skipping out on work, but it was a good thing that she did.

I glanced at the clock they had in the corner. Apparently I was only here for an extra three minutes, but I guess everyone was in a hurry to get to lunch.

"Guess you finally woke up." Rangiku remarked, smirking. "Don't you get enough sleep?"

"I wasn't sleeping." I replied, sounding a little defensive. "I was with communicating with my zanpakuto. Isn't that what this class is for, Lieutenant?"

She snorted. "That's what you'd think. Hardly anyone ever takes this class seriously. I know I certainly don't. By the way, don't bother with the lieutenant thing. I get enough of that from my division."

I nodded. Rangiku certainly was a bad role model for work ethics, but who was I to argue? I was probably just as bad as she was when it came to slacking in class.

_**Glad you noticed.**_

Ignoring the mental jibe, I pressed on to more important matters. "As you wish. Actually, I took the class to talk to you." I admitted.

"To talk to me?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, kid, but I'm not interested in younger boys."

Younger boys…? Did she really think that I was as brainless and testosterone-driven as the other male students? I couldn't resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"I wasn't talking about _that_, Rangiku. No offence, but you're not my type." I decided to clarify further. "What I wanted to talk to you about was how to leave the soul society and about conducting a search for someone here."

She seemed puzzled. "Why would you want to leave the soul society?" Then the second question hit her, and she understood. "Oh, I see. Is she someone special to you?" She leaned towards me, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I resisted the urge to facepalm at what she meant. "Rangiku, she's special, but not in the way you're thinking of."

She couldn't take the hint. "Unrequited love, huh? That's something everyone goes through once in their life, and more in the soul society. Take my advice, kid. Move on. Besides, you're dead and she's alive, so there's no chance for you two to be together anyway."

I clenched my fists. Rangiku certainly was one to jump at wrong conclusions. "Rangiku." I growled menacingly. Whatever came out must've sounded harmless, because she kept on talking as if I never said anything.

"Not only that, but there are plenty of fish in the sea, too! There are loads of girls here that are single and available, you know." She kept on rambling. How much clearer did I need to be?

"Rangiku, she's my sister."

There was silence for about a second, and I thanked whatever deity there was out there that she had desisted with the whole thing, until…

"Incest, huh?" she said the first thing that popped into her head. Then her eyes widened as she realized what I actually meant and started to laugh a little sheepishly.

Talk about a one-track mind.

"Sorry about that." She apologized. Not wanting to push the self-embarrassment any further, she answered my questions. "Honestly, I haven't been to the world of the living for a long time." She looked at the window longingly, as if it symbolized that outside world. "They don't let Lieutenants out there unless it's really necessary. As for how _you_ are going to get there, it depends."

She looked back at me with serious, blue eyes. "What I can tell you is that you made the right decision joining the academy. Once in a while, students are sent on field missions to the world of the living to have practical training. You won't get much freedom, but at least you're there. The only problem is that you don't get to choose where you'll end up going, but it should be somewhere in Japan."

That was news. It wasn't great, but it certainly wasn't bad either. At least there was a way to get out of this realm. Journeying back to my hometown wouldn't take that long with shunpo. The real question was whether I'd have the freedom to move around.

"What about the search option?" I asked, knowing that I probably wouldn't be able to get anymore information from the first question.

She shook her head sadly. "Sorry, Shiro, but you're on your own for that one. Most people die and never find their loved ones in the afterlife. There're just too many people."

Stumped, I just nodded. All I could do was to have faith that she was alive, then. "Thanks, Rangiku."

She smiled. "You're welcome. Say, would you want to come to our division headquarters for dinner after your classes? You're free then, right?"

"I wouldn't mind, but are you sure it's okay? Aren't normal people banned from entering any of the headquarters?" I asked, taken aback by her generous offer.

She shook her forefinger at me. "Captains and Lieutenants are allowed to bring those they deem have potential for future recruitment any time. And guess who's Lieutenant?" She winked.

I felt I was forgetting something here, but I decided it would be impolite to decline.

"Alright then. I'll see you later." I affirmed, walking out of the class.

As I walked along the corridor, elf-lady started laughing for absolutely no reason. Too puzzled to figure it out, I continued to the workshop to meet with the others for lunch. Today was Akiro's turn to cook lunch.

…

Cook. Dinner. Rangiku.

…

_Oh, hell no._

Elf-lady burst into another wave of raucous laughter.

* * *

"How could you've been so careless?" Shuhei asked after writing class. "I warned you. I truly did."

In all honesty, Shuhei's classes were actually quite interesting. Who would've known the guy had so much style behind that stoic and unmoving face. He was a passionate teacher, one who actually tried, but unfortunately, the class only consisted of eight people. Seven purely artistic souls and one with an ulterior motive.

But it didn't matter, since he was happy with the article that I submitted to him. I approached him after class as I did with Rangiku, but he only confirmed what Rangiku had already explained…minus the whole love thing.

"I really don't know. It just slipped my mind, I guess." I didn't know what to feel about this. On one end, maybe Shuhei and Marechiyo were exaggerating, but on the other hand, what if their warnings were simply understatements?

"Well, now that something's slipped your mind, I can guarantee something's gonna slip your stomach later." He snickered at his own joke.

"Now's not exactly the right time for jokes, Lieutenant." I told him. "What do you propose I do?"

"The best way to survive this is to cancel the dinner, but its a short term solution. She'd be pestering you over and over again until you've actually tried her cooking." He shook his head. "There really is no good way out of this. You've seen what happens when you badmouth her cooking."

We both tried to suppress the involuntary wince that came with the memory. I felt the blood drain from my face as I began to fully understand the depth of the trouble that I had just gotten myself into.

"I really _am_ in trouble, huh?" I voiced out my thoughts, and he nodded grimly, noticing that I had finally realized the mess that I was in, and probably about to cause at the dinner.

"Here's some advice. Don't swallow _anything._ If possible, try to distract her with conversation. That way she won't keep dumping the crap- I mean, 'food', on your plate." He frowned once more, as if remembering something. "Don't even touch the rice."

I guess I'm going hungry tonight, then.

* * *

"You're going to the 10th Division Headquarters? For real?" Yosuke asked. Somehow, he'd heard about my plans tonight and he hadn't stopped pestering me ever since.

We were back at the workshop, since pretty much everything that we needed was there. The administrators were even nice enough to put in a bathroom for cleaning up after spars and kido malfunctions, and I didn't have anything other than my uniform to wear. If there wasn't any regulations about having to sleep in the dorms, we'd be crashing here the whole time.

"Yes, Yosuke, for the third time, I _am_ going to the 10th Division's Headquarters." He simply didn't know when to stop bugging people.

"Wha-" he began.

"I've been invited for dinner." I cut him off.

"Who-" he started again.

"Rangiku Matsumoto, Lieutenant of the 10th Division." I answered his question lazily before it fully formed.

"Why-" Why? Why in the world does he persist in doing this?

"I don't know." I replied before he could say anything more.

"Ho-" How does he remember the exact same cycle? Someone kill me.

"We met at a ramen shop." Honestly, it's the third time he's doing this!

"Whe-"

"For the love of God, Yosuke, it's TONIGHT!"

He simply smirked. "Actually, I was about to ask you just when you turned psychic, but I guess you already disproved my theory."

Oh, why am I stuck with this idiot?

"Because he requires attention from everyone or he'll turn into a psychopath. Though I don't think there'll be any difference." Ayame walked into the workshop and answered my question.

I stood there, stunned. "…When did _you_ turn psychic?"

She chuckled darkly. "I didn't. You had that 'why am I stuck with Yosuke' look on your face. I have seen it many times, I have worn it many times, and I have empathized with it many times."

She shot Yosuke a withering look that was so forlorn that it could only be _her_ 'why am I stuck with Yosuke' look. He didn't even notice it.

Yes. Pity us. Well, at least Akiro's cooking is good…

I take that back. Don't pity _us._ Pity me.

* * *

"So tell me why," I started with gritted teeth, "did you neglect to mention that I would be facing off your squad members in battle?"

And that's exactly the way things were going. The moment I had arrived at the gates of the 10th's Headquarters, I was dragged off by Rangiku and a few of her subordinates into a dojo, which I assume was used for their training.

"I forgot." The busty Lieutenant answered as if that would excuse everything. I was on the verge of tearing her apart. I had just received a last minute briefing from her captain.

"And you!" I turned to the Lieutenant of the 9th division who was sitting tritely in the corner. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

He shrugged. "Rangiku told me not to."

I felt my left eye twitching involuntarily. I looked pointedly at Rangiku, who smiled innocently as though she had never heard Shuhei's not-so grudging admittance. "You were saying something about forgetting?"

"Oh, lighten up! Your scowl looks exactly like my captain's." she said in response. "You need to stop being so serious all the time."

The truth was I wasn't one of those serious types. I was just pissed. And for good reason too.

Her captain, who was right there, simply scowled more. He had snowy white hair, and was short. Like a kid short. Actually, his looks and my looks indicated that we were around the same 'age'. Only he was short.

_Short._

It hard _not_ to be intimidated by him, though, for his eyes displayed a cold and somewhat hardened captain. From what I'd heard, this short captain, whose name was Toshiro Hitsugaya, was a child prodigy who had graduated the academy in a year. It's hard to believe that someone of those skills and rank looked so boyish. Not to mention his name sounded like mine.

I decided to ignore that comment of Rangiku's, and faced Shuhei instead. "So why of all people do I have to fight _you_? You're not even from the 10th division."

"You're not facing me first, Shiro. You have to defeat a few others before getting to go against me." Judging from the way he said it, he was probably hoping for me to get beaten before that.

"You didn't answer my question. Why do I have to face you?" I was getting irritated by his sidestepping. His eyes hardened unexpectedly.

"Lieutenant Hisagi's reasons are personal, and if he doesn't want to share them with you, then he doesn't have to." Toshiro cut in, garnering the attention of everyone in the room. "You have two more minutes to prepare yourself. I suggest you quit wasting time with these meaningless questions and warm up or something."

The captain had a point, but I didn't need any warm-ups. I had shunpo-ed here under Ayame's directions, and thus already activated the heightened senses. There _was_ one more thing to do, though…

I drew the sword they had given me and tested the weight, only to find that it was weightless. Known as asauchi, these swords were actually nameless zanpakuto for shinigami in training. The hilt was plain, but the blade was well-crafted.

_**Shiro, do you want to try something?**_

_What is it, elf-lady?_

_**I think that we can probably connect through the sword. You can't release my power yet, but it should help with your fighting.**_

I glanced at the asauchi, wondering what elf-lady was planning. No sooner had I held it up had the sword begun to glow with a blue nimbus.

_**Longer, or shorter?**_

I didn't know what she was talking about, so I went with longer.

The light intensified, and the sword began to…_grow_?

_**A more accurate term would be elongate, but I shall let it slip just this once.**_

And elongate the sword did. It was as long as a regular katana when I first received it. Now, however, it was about as long as a nodachi.

_**Is this adequate?**_

I could only stare at the blade as the lights swirled around it, its metallic edge giving off a keener sheen than before. Everyone else was also transfixed at the transformation of the weapon, just as I was.

_A little shorter would be nice._

Elf-lady responded to the request, making it the same height as I pictured in my mind- approximately in between a katana and a nodachi. The blade itself now had a distinct blue pattern as a calling card for her work.

_Thanks, elf-lady._

_**No thanks necessary. It was an experiment I was eager to try.**_

_Thanks anyway._

"Shiro?"

I snapped out of my daze. Recognizing that the voice belonged to Rangiku, I turned to face her.

"Have you released your zanpakuto before?" Her voice was serious, indicating that this was not a matter to joke with.

"No." Honesty was usually the best policy in times like this. Note the usage of the term 'usually'.

"Then how did you…" she left it hanging, unsure of how to phrase the question.

"I don't know. My zanpakuto spirit offered to do it for me." I replied.

"Aren't you just a little over two weeks old in the soul society? I met you on the first day you arrived, right?" Shuhei asked, interrupting Rangiku's question. They were rhetorical questions to which I nodded. "How in the world did you manage to communicate with your zanpakuto that quickly?"

"I have to admit I'm a little curious about that too." Toshiro added, looking fully interested now.

_**Shiro, wait!**_ Elf-lady sounded a little panicked.

_What is it?_

_**Whatever you decide to do or say, don't mention your inner hollow to them. He is **_**not**_** supposed to exist.**_

_Understood._

"I don't know. She started talking to me around the time I crash landed. She was the one who taught me how to control my reiatsu, how to shunpo, and how to use the Byakurai." The best lie was the truth, at least, that's what I learned. I usually tried to refrain from lying outright.

Toshiro seemed to be pondering something, frowning even more. "While it _has_ happened before, zanpakuto spirits teaching their wielders about skills outside of their own is very rare. You are the first case that I've seen myself, discounting the reports of others."

I needed a way to escape the prodding quickly, so I immediately utilized the first idea that came to mind. I mimicked Toshiro's curt manner as well just for the heck of it.

"It's been two minutes already. I suggest we quit wasting time with these meaningless questions and start or something."

The snow-haired captain's eye twitched.

* * *

_****__Closing Song: Saikou no Kataomoi - Tainaka Sachi_

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A/N: Well, that's this chapter. Still lacking action, but the next chapter will make up for that, I promise. Somehow, it seemed a little messy to me, but it may just be the perfectionism every author feels.

_**Reviews would be extremely appreciated! xD**_

_**and encouraging**_

_**and awesome! xD**_


	13. Dervish of the Blade

A/N: Yo guys! I decided to write this part relatively quickly because I felt that it was left hanging somewhat. I need excuses to do things like this now. :/

Shoutout Time!

randomguy24: Hey, thanks for the detailed explanation on Sues and Stus. On that note, based on you explanation I would like to say that I never planned to Sue my character. xD

ComfortablyConfused: Hey...that cake sounds REALLY good right now~ :X Hungry :D I hope that whatever I've planned is epic enough to suit your taste!

Furionknight: Whaddup! Here it is. :P

And on the side note, thanks for reviewing, guys! It's very much appreciated. Well, here goes!

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**_Opening Song: Karma - Bump of Chicken_**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OCs thus far.

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**Chapter 13**

"As I explained earlier," Toshiro recapped, "there will be five matches to test your capabilities."

I was standing alone near the centre of the dojo, awaiting further instructions from the snow-haired captain. The asauchi elf-lady had modified before now radiated with some measure of power. I tightened my grip.

Five shinigami, including Shuhei, were told to stand by one of the walls, presumably my opponents for this session. Toshiro had deigned to repeat the rules once more for them. Upon further inspection, I noticed that three of the shinigami were rather plain-looking men in the customary uniform. The fourth, however, was a breathtaking beauty of a girl with startling long white hair, tied into a ponytail, and a calm disposition. She noticed my gaze, and gave me a quick smile.

"You will be facing some of our squad members, starting from an unseated member. It will be used to gauge your prowess in many fields. All forms of Zanjutsu, Kido, Hoho and Hakuda can be used. However, as per usual, you are prohibited from releasing your zanpakuto." He briefed, explaining the rules of the test.

Even without their zanpakuto, I was still at a severe disadvantage. I only knew two Kido spells among the 198 registered spells, and I'd heard that most shinigami could use up to the 40th spells of both Hado and Bakudo.

"As you will be using real blades, and not the wooden swords they use in the academy, be careful not to land a lethal blow. The battle is over after a decisive victory. Any wounds you that you received will be healed by Squad Four members after the battle." He motioned at the shinigami standing around the dojo. This piece of information was for my sake than the squad members, as it was probably a formality.

He glanced at the five shinigami present. "You will begin with fighting Takashi Motosuwa, one of our newest members from the batch intake just last year." He indicated to the man standing at the far right. "Are there any questions?"

I did a quick assessment of Takashi. He was medium-built, and taller than me. But then again, nearly everyone in the Gotei 13 was probably taller than me at my current height. Of course, this also meant that everyone in the Gotei 13 was taller than the 10th Division's captain, but I digress. Still, Takashi didn't look very confident despite the height advantage.

"No." I replied, answering Toshiro's inquiry.

"Alright then. Get ready, Motosuwa." He instructed, not even sparing a glance at the unseated shinigami.

Takashi almost jumped at his captain's orders. He walked rather unsteadily towards the centre, already sweating. He must've had a very low opinion of himself. It was something I should probably fix.

_**Shiro, you can end the fight before the battle even starts if you wish.**_

I considered it for awhile, but decided against it.

_His confidence is already shattered. I'm going to pretend to struggle for this one. Maybe just a little bit, and knock him out so he doesn't see the rest of the battles. Besides, the next guy I fight would probably underestimate me more if I did that._

Elf-lady didn't answer, but I sensed her approval of my proposed actions.

Takashi reached the centre and drew his sword with shaking hands. I suppressed the urge to smile, knowing that if what I planned worked this match, it'd do him a world of good.

"Begin." Toshiro said.

Takashi lunged at me with a clumsy stab which I could've sidestepped easily, but didn't. Instead, I blocked using my asauchi and attempted a half-hearted slash. He dodged that one and countered with a little more confidence, thinking that I wasn't such a tough opponent after all.

The battle went on for about three minutes in similar fashion; I continued to allow myself to appear hard pressed. Takashi's swordplay was becoming more and more decisive, and his footwork was getting better. I started including dodges as a sign of desperation to put myself out of the way, and countered with wilder attacks to enforce that belief.

I stole a glance at his expression. Takashi was sweating profusely, but his eyes showed that he thought he had more than a chance of winning this battle. The ends of his mouth were flickered upwards, and I could tell that some of the lost confidence had returned to him. He was having fun.

I feigned weakness for a few more of his attacks before beginning a rather complicated manoeuvre around him and knocked him out with the pommel of my asauchi before he could realize what was happening.

He crumpled to the floor, and I caught him by his arms before handing him over to one of the Squad Four members. She nodded at me and gave a quick smile before taking him over to the next room. I turned to Toshiro, serious now. If I had been fighting seriously with him, Takashi would've ended up dead after my first strike.

"I don't want to intrude on the way your squad works, but you shouldn't pit him against anyone until his self-esteemed issues are resolved." I remarked rather coldly at Toshiro, who was surprised by my tone. His turquoise eyes hardened.

"The way I handle my squad is my own business, Aragaki." He returned, equally cold. "You have a point, though." He added grudgingly, causing my respect for him to return. Anyone willing to accept his or her mistake was worthy of it.

"Fair enough." I conceded, not wanting to incur his wrath any further. I rested my sword on my shoulder and looked towards the others I had to fight. "Who's next?"

"You'll be going against one of the 20th seats of our squad next, Hideki Makoto." The man that was standing next to Takashi earlier stepped forward. He had a thin smile on his face, one that reflected his belief that he was superior to me. I wanted to laugh right there and then. That guy didn't even have any reiatsu worth mentioning. 20th seat or not, I wasn't going to take that trash from anyone weaker than I was.

Okay, maybe I was biased against him from the onset, but some people just ticked you off, you know? I was wondering about how I should deal with him when elf-lady's earlier suggestion came to mind.

_Elf-lady, you were saying something about finishing the fight before it even starts?_

_**Yes. If you release your reiatsu and just **_**intend **_**to kill him… well, just do it. You'll see the results for yourself.**_

_Alright._

Over the past two weeks, elf-lady had been tutoring me about reiryoku control more than anything else. I had to learn to control it before moving on to the more difficult exercises she had planned. Although my control was far from perfect, it was decent, and I knew how to do certain things, such as releasing reiatsu and holding it back.

"Begin!"

Hideki immediately began to launch himself at me.

I stared at him. In that single instant, I found many things I disliked about the 20th seat. He seemed to hold others in disregard, and saw them as beneath him. His eyes told the story of dishonesty, and his mouth seemed cruel. Yes, there were many things about the 20th seat that I disliked.

Alright, perhaps it was still biased, but what can I say? I held him in contempt the moment I laid eyes on him. I released my reiatsu, intending to chastise this seemingly arrogant squad member.

Hideki's eyes widened before he even got his feet off the ground. His attack was disrupted by some unknown force, and he seemed to have trouble breathing. He dropped his sword and collapsed on his knees, clutching at his throat. His face was beginning to turn a little blue.

And then I understood. It was the same thing that I did to the villagers who were in the Rukongai and also to Moustache… I forgot his name, but I _do_ remember that he was the 20th seat for Shuhei's squad. The only difference is that this one is focused.

I was choking a man without even touching him. It made me feel powerful, like I could do whatever I wanted.

_**Stop that, Shiro!**_

I snapped out of my reverie. What was I thinking? It wasn't like me to be so…power-hungry.

Before I could do anything else, however, I felt a cold presence radiating from behind. I turned around, and saw remarkable sight.

The Captain of the 10th Division had a powerful pale blue aura emanating from him, and his expression was stern. He shook his head almost imperceptibly, and a freezing wave of disapproval washed over me. Toshiro wasn't happy about my performance at all.

I looked back at Hideki and found that he was really suffocating. I decided to release him from the effects of my reiatsu before I accidentally killed him. As soon as I did, he crumpled to the floor on all fours, taking deep breaths. I walked right up to him and placed the blade of my sword onto his neck. It remained there for three seconds before going back to its initial position, resting on my shoulder.

I turned around to face the other shinigami with the intention of asking who I had to fight next, but instead I found Toshiro there with a nettled look. He wasn't glowing anymore, but it was obvious that he was displeased with my actions.

The snow-haired captain took the advantage of the delay to call me aside for a quick chat.

"Don't do that again." He warned. He seemed to take what I did as a personal insult, and was struggling to control his temper.

"It was the first time I actually did it willingly, so I didn't know the effects would be that bad." I defended myself. "My zanpakuto didn't say anything about what would happen."

Somehow, even someone as impervious as I was uncomfortable remaining in Toshiro's bad graces. That was most likely why he was captain and not just some seated member running around doing errands. His presence alone was probably enough to break a lesser person into a quivering mess.

He gave me a long, hard look before reverting back to his indifferent attitude. "Whatever. You get a five minute break before the next round begins." He turned around and walked off, heading for the door of the dojo.

I released my breath, unaware that I was even holding it. Since I wasn't even tired, as the last two rounds took virtually no effort, I decided to spend my time leaning against the nearest wall I could find. I'd barely reached there when Rangiku and Shuhei approached me, the former with a surprisingly sobered expression in stark contrast to her usual light-heartedness.

"Those sure were some exciting fights." Shuhei said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Despite being involved in those fights, I had to agree with him. For an onlooker, that must've been boring to watch. The first battle was so bad that it would make a squirrel cry, while the second was just watching someone suffocate, although that was fun in a peculiar way.

_**When did **_**you**_** turn sadistic?**_

_About the same time I met him. I don't tolerate people who look down on me for no reason. You should know that, elf-lady._

_**I do indeed.**_

"I'll try to spice it up a little for the next round." I promised, snapping out of the little inner conversation before they noticed. And I meant what I said too. The next fight was going to be a serious one.

"You'd better. You went _way_ too easy on Takashi in the first round." Rangiku chipped in, speaking her mind. "Anyone could tell that you were holding back."

I looked at the door where the healers had disappeared through and commented on her statement. "Except Hideki, apparently."

"Don't worry about him. These things happen in the Soul Society all the time." Rangiku assured me, a little too quickly. I must've been wearing a worried expression on my face for her to lie like that.

"Don't worry too much about the Captain, either." She added, surprising me. I hadn't said anything about Toshiro yet. "It's just that he's had a bad experience with reiatsu effects like that. He hasn't really gotten over that part of his past."

I see. I'd better apologize to him later, then. If I knew, I wouldn't even have attempted it.

"Anyway, why'd you go easy on Takashi, anyway? It was a perfect chance to show how much better you were in contrast to him." Rangiku asked, carefully.

"He had no self-confidence. I couldn't just beat him up like he meant nothing after that." I answered, phrasing my reply with equal care. It was an honest answer, and I didn't want any misunderstandings here. Everyone was so on edge that the tension in the room felt heavy, and I knew that the slightest misspoken word could cause an unwanted chain reaction.

She nodded then, and smiled. Shuhei visibly relaxed as well. Looks like I passed whatever test they had.

We continued talking for a while, awaiting the return of Toshiro. After a short while, Shuhei and Rangiku got into an argument about who was paying for drinks later. While I caught on to some things, such as Shuhei paying for last time and something about Captain Kyoraku getting drinks, I was lost for the most part of the conversation.

I'd learned to be more or less invisible during heated conversations such as these, just so I could learn a few things. You'd be surprised at how effective that is, and how much people reveal when they get agitated

"Well, if you can get Captain Kyoraku to come along, then he can pay for the drinks." Shuhei proposed, seeking a peaceful end to the argument.

I watched them with a sense of amusement. Seeing them quarrel reminded me of Ayame and Yosuke. Maybe these two used to be classmates before as well.

"Fine, then. Maybe I'll go get him later, if he isn't already drunk." Rangiku conceded, ending the argument. I winced. What sort of captain would get himself drunk on a regular basis?

Just as their little conversation ended, Toshiro came back through the door. He looked noticeably calmer now, and I caught the ghost of a smile on his face. It was obvious that the recess given was more for his benefit than ours. He had needed time to compose himself.

"Alright, everyone, break's over." He declared. "Get back into your positions."

Rangiku and Shuhei both nodded at me before returning to their respective locations. Following the captain's instructions myself, I stepped back into the centre of the dojo.

"This is the third match, and you will be facing our 14th seat, Tomoyo Mikazaki." He stated.

As there was only one female shinigami there, I didn't even have to look where Toshiro's gaze was indicating to find her. It was the beautiful white-haired girl that I noticed earlier.

As with the other two members that I faced before, I gave her a quick assessment. She moved with effortless grace and the confidence of someone who knew exactly what she was doing. Being a 14th seat, she probably knew how to fight well, and her lithe frame portrayed that. Her violet eyes displayed a calmness that matched her elegance. This girl was skilled, for sure.

I glanced at her weapon. Since I wasn't planning to choke her with a wave of reiatsu, I figured it would be better to strategize now than later. But then again, until I actually observe her fighting, I wouldn't know how to deal with her. It would be a useless attempt.

I decided to look anyway. She carried a katana at her side, sheathed traditionally in a regular scabbard. Her right hand was already placed over the hilt of her weapon, indicating that she was prepared.

Tomoyo stepped into position and faced me, appearing to be ready for combat. For someone who was going to fight, she seemed completely relaxed.

"Alright then, begin!" Toshiro called, signifying the beginning of yet another battle. As with before, I observed rather than attacking first.

Tomoyo, however, showed no signs of hesitation. Before the last syllable passed from her captain's lips, she had already launched at me at incredible speeds. Her sword flew out of its sheath as she swung an uppercut directed at my torso in one swift movement.

Prepared for her quick movements, I charged forward as well, and her blade met with mine halfway. But even as I felt the jarring impact on my blade, she disappeared from sight.

Damn, she was fast! Much faster than Ayame!

Hearing the whistle of her blade on my right, I spun to defend myself, but just as before, she disappeared the moment my blade clashed with hers. She continued with similar attacks aimed at my back and sides, always vanishing after our blades clashed, leaving only the ringing sound of metal against metal. There was no pattern, no weak points that I could see.

Again and again she came in the same fashion, but I couldn't even follow her movements. Once or twice I caught her silhouette at the corner of my eyes, but that was the extent of what I could see.

I knew I was being overwhelmed. Sooner or later, I was bound to slip up and take a slash or two. I had to get out of this enclosing circle of Tomoyo's, and quickly too.

Getting an idea, I crouched low, my sword at the ready to defend against the next attack. I closed my eyes, feeling for the trail of reiatsu everyone left behind.

This move was a gamble. While searching for her reiatsu trail, my only defence against her was my instinct, hearing and reaction speed. Although I was relying on that before as well, I couldn't see her blade's direction with my eyes closed.

The tell-tale sound could be heard on my left, and my sword arm instinctively reached out to ward off the blade, allowing me to retain most of my focus on the search. I just needed to latch on to her reiryoku…

Her sword whistled at my right this time, and I spun, catching it in once more. I could feel a faint presence lingering there, and I smiled. I could finally recognize her presence and follow it.

Reopening my eyes, I could detect her movements and feel the trail of her reiatsu. Sensing her path behind me, I spun before she had even raised her blade to strike, and caught a glimpse of her face. It was pleasantly surprised, but only slightly.

Tomoyo stopped the attack midway then, and shunpo-ed back to the exact spot where she was standing before, her katana sheathed.

"Well, finally." She remarked. "It took you long enough. If I wasn't holding back, you'd be dead many times over by now." A faint smile graced her pretty face, and her eyes showed signs of amusement.

The most belittling thing wasn't her statement or her expressions of amusement, however. She hadn't even broken a sweat after all that. I mean, I wasn't sweating either, but I had remained rooted to the ground; Tomoyo had been moving at breakneck speed.

… Talk about disconcerting. Did she really outclass me that much?

"Get ready. I'm going to be a little more serious now, and I won't hesitate to cut you." She warned, before getting into a forward stance, her hand already on the hilt of her weapon. She launched herself forward akin to her first strike, and delivered another uppercut at my torso.

I brought my asauchi up to defend myself, and like the first time, she disappeared immediately after our blades crossed. This time, however, she didn't give me the time to gather my balance. I felt her presence moving towards my back and spun to meet her attack. As before, the out blades connected for only an instant, leaving me no time to counterattack.

The problem with this entire battle was her insane speed. Tomoyo was keeping me hard-pressed by attacking from all directions so I couldn't shunpo away without accidentally running into the edge of her katana. She danced with the blade like it was simply an extension of her arm. It wasn't the typical Zanjutsu that most shinigami employed; it was a unique style that she probably perfected on her own.

I was trapped. In terms of swordsmanship, I lost in every aspect. Tomoyo had beaten me in skill, speed and technique, and I could only defend myself in awe as she continued to attack me without tiring. The person on the defensive never wins the battle.

_**You're not thinking straight, Shiro. Stop being so unnerved by the prospect of losing and think!**_

Elf-lady was right. What was I missing in this battle? Something that I haven't tried, but could cause little or no consequence to myself…

"_You will be facing four of our squad members, starting from an unseated member."_

_"It will be used to gauge your prowess in many fields." _

_"All forms of Zanjutsu, Kido, Hoho and Hakuda can be used."_

That's right… all forms of Zanjutsu, Kido, Hoho and Hakuda can be used…

_**Do you understand now?**_

_Yes, elf-lady. Thanks for the reminder._

"Byakurai." I uttered softly, pointing the forefinger of my right hand at the direction Tomoyo was about to attack from.

Her eyes widened with surprise, but the she simply swerved away, easily avoiding the pale blue projectile. The attack, however, had served its purpose in distracting her, allowing me to shunpo away. As long as I didn't remain in a single spot for too long, I could probably avoid being caught by her circle again.

Or so I thought. The moment I stopped, she appeared right behind me in an instant, her weapon poised to strike.

I turned around, barely in the nick of time to catch her blade with mine, but this time she remained after the blow, not disappearing like before. There was a satisfied smirk on her face, but before I could puzzle out the reason for that, a sharp explosion of pain erupted across my back.

"This battle's over." Tomoyo's voice came from behind me. "Don't worry, you fought well."

But…wasn't she right in front of me? I just deflected her attack with my own weapon, right? How could she be in two places at the same time? I twisted around, only to see her standing stoically with her sword already sheathed. The sudden movement sent another ripple of pain across my back, reducing me to one knee.

Damn, that hurts...

Careful not to move my back too much to prevent any more blood from flowing from the wound, I glanced behind slowly. I was just in time to see the other Tomoyo vanish into thin air, leaving scattered remains of cloth behind.

_What the hell…was that?_

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_****__Closing Song: Saikou no Kataomoi - Tainaka Sachi_

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A/N: Well, whaddya think of that? It had some action, and I hope that I conveyed it with enough detail. If it seemed a little too messy, I apologize for it. Action scenes aren't really my forte.

As for those with doubts about the characters, believe me when I say that I don't plan to go against whatever Tite Kubo has shown us so far.

Once again, it has to be said that **Reviews would be Extremely Appreciated!**

**And encouraging.**

**And awesome! :D**


	14. Hitsugaya's Assessment

A/N: Yo. No, the story won't die till it reaches the ending of the First Arc. Then I'll probably hiatus for abit, but yeah. Anyway, my excuse for lateness this time is exams. History was a killer.

**Shoutout Time!**

randomguy24: Oh yeah, that's true. Fights _do_ get rather messy at times from a first-person POV. Still, it's no excuse if I did it badly.

Heir of Schiffer: Lol, you don't like the nice Shiro? I'm neutral on that one myself, but a character _has _to develop from somewhere. :D

Furionknight: And you get some. Late, but you still get some.

**Thanks to all the reviewers so far! It does wonders for encouragement. xD**

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**_Opening Song: Karma - Bump of Chicken_**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. The do, however, own the OCs thus far.

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**Chapter 14**

"Does it feel better now?" One of the Squad 4 members asked, tending to the wound on my back.

It was my first experience with Healing Kido, and it the warmth of the healing was surprisingly soothing. Contrary to human operations, which required an anaesthetic to perform due to excruciating pain, Healing Kido had a numbing effect on its own.

I nodded in reply. The pain had slowly but surely evaporated from my back. All that remained of the wound by the time the Squad 4 medic was done was a thin horizontal scar.

"That's good. The scar should be gone in a week or so." she said.

"Thank you." That was good news. I mean, chicks dig scars, but I don't.

_**Me neither. I'm glad it'll go away.**_

So I guess chicks _don't_ dig scars. Then again, I doubt anyone would consider elf-lady a chick. She's a full-grown bird now.

I winced, even though I made the pun. Could something that bad come out of my thoughts?

…_**Apparently so. That was a**_** really**_** bad pun.**_

_I know._

"You know, you're lucky." The Squad 4 medic remarked, unaware of the terrible pun I made. Her eyes were on the scar on my back. "If the cut was just a millimetre deeper, we'd be having problems fixing you up."

"I'm sure Tomoyo was intentionally precise." I told her rather grudgingly. I was still kinda sore on that subject. I mean, how could I lose to a 14th seat? I was pretty sure that I was up to 8th seat, at least, even if I _was_ lacking experience.

There was a knock on the door just then. "Um, as soon as you're done in there, the Captain would like to see Shiro Aragaki."

I didn't recognize the voice, but it was somewhat hesitant. I turned to the medic that tended to my wound. "Thank you, miss. I'll be sure to repay you someday."

She smiled warmly in return. "You're welcome. Now, its best not keep Captain Hitsugaya waiting."

I nodded goodbye and stepped out of the room, back into the bleak dojo.

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"What's taking him so long?" I wondered aloud, getting more than a little irritated. "He said that as soon as I was done, I was to see him."

"It's unusual for the Captain to be tardy. Maybe he's talking to Momo again." Tomoyo remarked.

The two Lieutenants and I were having a rather animated conversation when Tomoyo had joined in unexpectedly. Her conversational tone of voice was very different compared to when she held her weapon. Earlier, she spoke with a calm, deadly manner, intimidating enough to plant the seeds of hesitation in the heart of a warrior.

Now, however, her voice was soft and musical, almost hypnotising. The drastic change implied that she clearly knew the boundary between serious and casual, and was willing to step across the line if needed.

"Who's Momo?" I inquired, a little curious. What kind of person was this Momo to be able to distract the uptight Toshiro?

"Lieutenant of Squad 5, Momo Hinamori. She's Captain Hitsugaya's childhood friend. They lived together in the Rukongai when they were younger." Rangiku supplied helpfully.

"I see. What's she like?" I prompted Rangiku further. She seemed to have a habit for gossip and talking about things.

"Well, she's really nice and sweet. In fact, Momo's the most popular lieutenant in the Gotei 13! She's the complete opposite of Captain Hitsugaya, but you know what they say, opposites attract." She winked.

"Toshiro's not that bad. He's actually much nicer than you give him credit for." Tomoyo intervened, contradicting Rangiku's statement.

"I know, but he doesn't show it too much. He keeps it hidden underneath the cold exterior he has."

"That's true. It's the reason he's got so many fans, after all." Tomoyo concluded, sighing.

My ears perked up. Toshiro has fans? Like fanboys and fangirls?

"How did _that_ happen?" I asked, slightly curious as to how Toshiro managed to acquire such a large fan base.

"Well, to the girls, he's the epitome of 'bad boys'. He's nice enough when it comes right down to it, but also enough of a jerk to make them think that maybe he can be changed. Top it off with good-looking, mysterious and powerful and you have a chick magnet right there." Rangiku explained.

_...Did you get all of that, elf-lady?_

_**Yes. It's a female thing, so don't ask. Men don't understand simple concepts like that.**_

_Feminist._

"So what makes him an idol to the guys?" I continued, somewhat interested in this particular topic.

"I don't know. You should ask Shuhei." Rangiku suggested, turning to said person.

Shuhei shrugged. "He's cool."

Now _that's_ a real explanation. It's much more clear and understandable when he words it like that. Women tend to complicate things sometimes.

_**Chauvinist.**_

_Touché._

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"Sorry I'm late." Toshiro stepped in, oblivious to the fact that we were talking about him earlier. Ignorance is bliss, though.

"No worries, captain! You gave us a chance to chat." Rangiku waved off, glancing at her captain. "How was _your_ chat with Momo?"

Caught off guard, Toshiro simply stood and stared for a moment, but quickly recovered and retorted. "It's none of your business."

"Aw, is the cute little kid captain embarrassed?" She teased him in a babyish voice.

"Shut up, Rangiku. And I'm _not_ a kid."

The lieutenant laughed, and acceded to his wishes. The snow haired captain then turned to me.

"Actually, we aren't done with the proficiency test. Tomoyo is far above the 14th seat, but seeing as you managed to defend yourself quite well, there will be one more battle if you wish to continue."

I glanced at Tomoyo. Far above the 14th seat? Then what in the world was she doing _at_ the 14th seat? Regardless, I was being given another chance to prove myself.

"Why not?" I replied, shrugging. I could use the practice anyway, and I doubt that I could do any worse than earlier.

"Good." Toshiro turned to one of the shinigami who were watching the test earlier. "Go and call Kokichiro Takezoe. Tell him he's needed for the proficiency test."

The squad member looked at him, nodded and shunpo-ed off. Toshiro then turned back to me.

"If my estimate is correct, your skills should be at the same level as our 7th seat. Your reiatsu, however, is much higher. You are currently at the stage between a captain and a lieutenant in that aspect, but you won't be using it now, so it doesn't matter." He informed me. "Your weapon is leaning against the wall over there."

I nodded. My reiatsu was apparently higher than a lieutenant's, but if my skills aren't as good as one, there was probably no point unless I planned to choke someone to death. I understood his perspective of things.

"I see. I have one question though." I said, looking at Tomoyo who was standing behind the snow-haired captain. "What was that thing that Tomoyo used earlier?"

"That was utsusemi." Toshiro answered. "It's a Hoho technique that leaves behind an afterimage due to its incredible speed. It's a very complicated and difficult technique to perform, and it's something that I haven't managed to accomplish."

Something the captain couldn't do? What else was Tomoyo capable of? I decided to voice out that question, but before I could a shinigami arrived through the door of the dojo.

"Sir! You called for me, sir?" He asked respectfully. The 7th seat of Squad 10 was an earnest-looking middle aged man. He spoke in a very polite tone and seemed to have a habit of calling Toshiro 'sir'.

I took this opportunity to retrieve my weapon from the wall and resting it on my shoulder before walking to the middle of the dojo to stand in the same place as before.

"Yes, Takezoe. You are to battle with this student. You know how it works; you've seen it done a few times." Toshiro instructed.

"Of course, sir. But sir, isn't battling a 7th seat a little too much for a student?" Takezoe asked.

"You'll find that he'll be a suitable opponent." The Squad 10 captain turned to me then and narrowed his eyes. "The same rules apply. Begin."

Not entirely surprised by the suddenness of it all, I raised my blade to block Takezoe's first strike. He shunpo-ed back to his original position, holding his zanpakuto lowly in his right hand.

"I'm impressed. Perhaps you might be a challenge after all." Takezoe remarked. I responded with a grin. From what I gauged by his initial attack, he was going to get a lot more than what he expected.

"Perhaps." I agreed rather lightly before using shunpo to appear behind him. I attempted a horizontal slash across his back, only to meet his blade halfway. There was definitely a difference between him and those shinigami that I beat before, but he was significantly weaker compared to Tomoyo. For one, I could actually attack.

I continued my barrage of attacks to his front, attempting to find an opening in his defence while leaving none for myself. He managed to avoid or block every single one of them, but I didn't give him enough time for counterattacks. Knowing this, he shunpo-ed away from me, probably hoping to gain some distance from me to plan a little.

Well, whatever it was for, I wasn't going to give him that chance. I shunpo-ed forward to follow him, but before I could discern what was happening, I saw him flying at me with his sword held out to his left, ready to slash me across the chest. Logic abandoned my movements and was immediately replaced by instinct as I blocked his unexpected attack.

"You have good reflexes. That reverse shunpo would've gotten a lot of people." Takezoe commended, beginning a series of swordplay techniques that I recognized from the Zanjutsu classes.

"Thanks. It was a close call, though." I replied, ducking beneath his slash. I lodged his blade into the ground along with my own and planted a dropkick on his chest, using the hilt as support. Landing neatly on my feet, I pulled out my asauchi just before he rolled into a crouching position with one hand clutching his chest while the other held his zanpakuto defensively in front of him.

"You're better than I thought." He stood back up, not taking his eyes off me. "I'd better not underestimate you anymore."

He disappeared, only to re-appear to my right with his zanpakuto raised for an overhead slash. I quickly switched my asauchi to my right hand to deflect his blade to the side before retaliating with a quick stab. Takezoe spun to avoid the attack and countered with yet another horizontal slash.

Knowing that he probably wouldn't fall for the same trick twice, I crouched low -narrowly avoiding his slash-, and attempted a front sweep, which he simply jumped over. I reversed the front sweep right as he landed and managed to trip him up. Seeing an opening, I pushed his sword arm out of the way before catching his head between my feet, using one hand to stand on the ground. Refraining from spinning as it would've broken his neck, I swung him to the other end of the dojo instead, where he crashed against the wall and slumped to the ground.

I like my enhanced strength.

I heard elf-lady's defeated sigh in my head. _**Just don't go overboard this time.**_

_No worries about that. It's over for now, anyway._

Takezoe struggled to recover, but before he even managed to get back on his knees, I shunpo-ed in front of him, stepped on his zanpakuto and placed my asauchi at his neck for three seconds before resting it on my shoulder once more.

I stepped off his zanpakuto offered Takezoe my free hand. "Good match."

"Yeah." He nodded and took my hand, pulling himself up from the ground. After he brushed himself down, we both walked back to Toshiro and the others.

"Good work, Shiro!" Rangiku commended. I nodded in acknowledgement and gave her a quick 'thanks'.

"It was miles better than watching you getting beaten up by Tomoyo here, that's for sure." Shuhei agreed, smirking. Idiot.

Tomoyo smiled. "He's really not _that_ bad, you know." She responded to him.

"Well, yeah, I suppose, but he still has a long way to go."

"Will you two stop talking as if I wasn't even here?" I asked, annoyed by their speculation. At least talk to _me _when you're discussing about me.

"That's enough, you three." Toshiro intervened. He narrowed his eyes at me. "I suppose you'd like your assessment."

I was very tempted to reply with 'No, that's why I took this exam', but decided against it. I simply nodded instead.

"Very well." He began.

"Your fighting skills are above average. Mixing hand-to-hand combat with sword-fighting isn't easy, and it's something that the Onmitsukido would do, but you pulled it off rather well. It gives a unique flow to your fighting style, so you're rather unpredictable in combat. I would say that you could probably take on our 3rd seat without any problems, but you'd certainly have trouble with any of the lieutenants."

That's a lot of things to swallow. I guess taking on one of the lieutenants would be rather tough, even though I drew with Shuhei during the exams. Then again, he probably didn't increase his speed or strength with reiatsu because it was a Zanjutsu exam, not a battle.

He went on. "You need to think more on fighting strategy. Don't go rushing blindly into things like you did with Takezoe. That was stupid; you could've gotten yourself killed if it was a fight to the death. As for the fights before, you showed restraint, control, and power. You also seem to have a decent aptitude for Kido, seeing as you used Byakurai without the incantation."

Elf-lady snorted. _**He has no idea.**_

_Be nice._

"Overall, you pass. Welcome to the 10th Division. You won't be a seated officer until you graduate from the academy, but it's probably a good thing. Just make sure you do your work and not slack off like Rangiku here."

Elf-lady snorted once more. _**Again, he has no idea.**_

_Again, be nice._

"Me, captain? I don't slack off, what are you talking about?" The Squad 10 Lieutenant asked innocently, causing her captain's eye to twitch.

"Nevermind, just get back to work. That goes for the rest of you as well." He extended the order to everyone else who had gathered to watch the proficiency test. From what Shuhei said during our brief conversation earlier, it was rare for a student to be given the privilege of taking the exams so I suppose the crowd was inevitable. According to him, the student needed to be vouched for by two seated officers, and apparently Shuhei himself had been chosen during his academy days.

Toshiro turned back to me. "You'll be assigned missions from time to time, but they shouldn't be beyond your capabilities. I suggest you spend the rest of your time focusing on your education."

Right, education. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at that.

"Anyway, I'll be leaving now. I have a lot of paperwork to catch up with. Good night." He bade to everyone before using shunpo to disappear out of the dojo into the darkness. Takezoe also left in the same manner to get back to whatever he was doing before Toshiro summoned him.

"Let's celebrate!" Rangiku exclaimed, looking at this as an opportunity to slack. "I'll go whoop us up a big, awesome dinner."

I felt the blood drain from my face. I exchanged a glance with Shuhei, and his face was slightly green, probably matching mine. After all of Shuhei's warnings and examples, I didn't want to try Rangiku's cooking even once. It was a terrible ending to a decent night.

Lieutenant of Squad 10 was in the midst of waltzing off to the kitchen and turned to Shuhei. "See if you can call Captain Kyoraku and Izuru for dinner as well. Tell them to bring the drinks!"

"I'll go help out as well." Tomoyo said, walking off to where Rangiku was heading. Shuhei visibly relaxed, and the hint of a smile played around the corner of his lips.

"Thank the gods for Tomoyo." He said fervently, before turning to me. "Come on, we've got a few people to get." He started walking to the dojo entrance. I hurriedly followed him, unsure of what to do.

"Are you sure it's going to be safe to eat? I don't want to an accomplice for genocide with food-poisoning." I asked cautiously. Was it really a good idea to invite people to die? Hm, I wonder…

"Don't worry about it. Tomoyo's a master chef. She can fix up anything that goes wrong in the kitchen." He grinned. "If we're lucky, she might even make her signature Vienna sausages."

I smiled at that. Good food is always good.

"Let's hope we're lucky, then."

* * *

_****__Closing Song: Saikou no Kataomoi - Tainaka Sachi_

_****__

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_

A/N: Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter a little more than I enjoyed my History exam. As for updates, I might delay updating by a week or so due to exam purposes, but I won't stop writing! :P

I'm striving to keep a balance here; do tell me if I'm getting out of hand.

**As usual, reviews would be extremely appreciated :D**

**Still awesome and encouraging as well, no worries there. xDD**


	15. Herald of Misfortune

A/N: Hey, people. This story will not die! Not till I've completed it anyways. I do apologize for the time between the last update and this one, though. I've been busy with exams, overseas holidays, and the restarting of school. I know it's not much excuse, but I'll just use it anyway! :P

**Shoutout Time!**

Heir of Schiffer: I see your point on him winning too easily, but remember that even Chad took down a 3rd seat with a single punch. It's already been portrayed in the story that a majority of shinigami below Lieutenant level are really weak. I apologize for the long wait, and it's good if you're able to envision the fights, because I have to polish up on fight scenes myself. For some reason, whenever I read it, it seems messy.

randomguy24: Hey! Thanks for the compliments. As I said to Heir of Schiffer earlier, I still have a long way to go with fight scenes. Glad you're enjoying it for the moment though. Also, I get your point in Shuhei trying to get Shiro in his own squad, but the squad listings are subject to change, and quite frankly, I have no idea on how to write Captain Tousen (crap, secret's out!). And thus, I went with Rangiku, since it was the other lieutenant that Shiro knew.

Furionknight: You haz moar.

Demiser of D: Thank you for reviewing this. Yes, I see the point in your message, and it's going to be a tough mental workout trying to limit Shiro. The only problem with actually _limiting_ Shiro is that if it appears forced, the story will get very choppy. So instead of limiting him, I'm going to go for the other route. There are others more powerful than him, and these aren't OCs. I am actually very ashamed of my uploading speed, but that's just my busy side coming out.

* * *

_**Opening Song: Karma - Bump of Chicken**_

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OC's thus far.

* * *

Chapter 15

According to Shuhei, the strawberry-blonde lieutenant had a tendency to overcook food in more than one way. There would always be twice the amount of food for the intended amount of people.

As such, we invited Toshiro to join in as well during our search for the other captains. The boy-captain had refused straight out when he heard Rangiku was the one preparing the food, but after he found out that Tomoyo was helping out as well, he grudgingly agreed and tagged along with us on another trip to collect his friend Momo from the Fifth Division Headquarters.

Momo had also asked her captain, who was none other than the infamous Captain Aizen who taught the calligraphy classes at the academy, to join us. He replied to her invitation with a kind smile, and nodded his answer. Somehow, things only got more confusing from there.

After retrieving Captain Kyoraku, he had opted to invite his lieutenant, whom he called his 'precious Na-na-o'. The stern-faced lieutenant simply rolled her eyes at her captain and reluctantly gave in to his pleading.

As if that wasn't enough, Captain Kyoraku brought all of us along to the Thirteenth Division Headquarters after, where he invited Captain Ukitake, the captain of the 13th. Two 3rd seats from the same squad trailed behind their captain, needlessly declaring their respect and admiration for him. I mentally facepalmed; this was getting out of hand. The number of people had jumped from six to thirteen.

After collecting Izuru Kira, the Lieutenant of the Squad 3, we had to turn back to the Eighth Division Headquarters to just because Captain Kyoraku forgot to collect the 'drinks', which smelled suspiciously of alcohol. Then again, seeing as Rangiku hinted earlier that the captain himself got drunk on a regular basis I shouldn't have been so surprised.

It had been about an hour or so since we left the Tenth Division Headquarters, and dinner would've been ready by now. We walked back as a group, drawing many stares from onlookers who managed to catch a glimpse of the four captains. I was fervently hoping that we got back to Headquarters quickly. The endless proclamations of devotion by the pair of 3rd seats, who were introduced as Sentarou and Kiyone, were beginning to grate on my nerves.

After about fifteen minutes, we got back to the Headquarters to find another surprise. There was a fox-faced man in a captain's haori sitting on the dining table. There was the kanji for '3' on the back of the white piece of clothing.

"Why, hello." The captain of the Third Division greeted us with a fox-like smile. I groaned inwardly. Just what we needed, Captain Ichimaru of the Third Division.

_Make that fourteen people._

* * *

"Dinner is served!" Rangiku called, laying the final dish on the table with a rather grand flourish.

I peered into the bowl that she had just set. It was supposed to be soup…I think. Maybe stew? It's a little hard to tell when it's purple with chunks of…meat(?) floating around.

Whatever it was, I was avoiding that dish. Something told me that it spelt danger. The others seemed to recognize its inedibility as well, seeing as they backed away from it after looking at the contents.

"Well, everyone, dig in!" Rangiku said, helping herself to some of the purple stew. Everyone just stared at her while she inserted the Mystery Food X into her mouth, smiling as she did so.

"Mmm, delish! I put in enough eyeballs after all!" The rest of us, including myself, turned a little green after her self-congratulatory comment. Well, nearly all of us, the exception being Captain Ichimaru who managed to mask whatever was on his mind under that fox-like smile of his.

Tomoyo, who was sitting next to me, nudged me lightly with her elbow.

"Whatever you do, don't eat it. She wouldn't let me touch that dish, claiming that it was her specialty." She said in a low voice.

"Specialty or not, I wasn't planning to eat anything you didn't have a hand in." I replied.

She raised an eyebrow at this.

"Shuhei compared Rangiku's kitchen skills with yours earlier." I clarified.

"Ah. Well, then the only dish which you _shouldn't_ eat is that purple stew thing. Oh, and because Rangiku wanted to do a dish all on her own, I did the same. The sausages were something I did on my own." She looked towards Shuhei. "They're Shuhei's favourite."

I made a mental note to tease him about 'sausages' later at some point of time. Those sausages _did_ look and smell good though…

"Well, what're you waiting for, everyone? Dig in!" Rangiku seemed rather excited about the dinner.

Almost instantly, everyone else reached for the Vienna sausages that was set right in the middle. I sweatdropped somewhat.

_I guess Shuhei isn't the only person that Tomoyo has cooked for._

_**Apparently so.**_

Within seconds, the entire plate of sausages pretty much vanished into thin air, leaving me without any the heavenly-smelling sausages.

Stunned, I looked around. Everyone had one or two already, and to top off the whole thing, Shuhei had four of them heaped on his plate.

"Here, have mine." Tomoyo passed her handiwork from her plate to mine.

"You sure?" I asked, just to check. "You only have one."

"Yeah, but I can make them anytime, so it's alright." She smiled warmly at me.

"Thanks." I replied.

We were both silent for abit after that, so I paid heed to the other conversations taking place around the table.

"Shuhei, stop stuffing your face with those sausages! You look quite ungentlemanly." Rangiku was chastising the Squad 9 Lietenant.

"But I can't help it! It's so good!"

"That's no excuse! Learn to eat properly!"

I chuckled as I bit into the sausage that Tomoyo very generously donated to me. Instantly I understood why Shuhei was gobbling down the damn things like there was no tomorrow. These sausages were _divine_.

The only problem was that I couldn't. I only had that one measly sausage, and I had to savour every last bit of it. Before the other foods disappeared, I hastily grabbed a small portion of each, minus the stew. _Maybe…_

I turned my head to another conversation, namely the bumbling duo of the 13th squad.

"Captain, you can have my sausage, sir!" Sentarou declared. I did a spit take_. Did he notice the innuendo contained in that sentence?_

"What are you saying, you bumblehead!" Kiyone pushed Sentarou aside, "Captain, have my sausage instead!"

I couldn't bear to watch the whole affair anymore; I was at my limit trying to contain my laughter. Instead, I decided to work out my grand master plan looking elsewhere.

I took another bite of my sausage, leaving only about half left. _This plan had better work…_

"Shiro-chan, how's work?" A voice asked. I turned at the mention of the name, only to find that Momo was addressing the captain of Squad 10.

"Haven't I told you to stop calling me that?" Toshiro protested, though his normally cold eyes were soft when he looked towards her. I chuckled inwardly. Even the icy Captain could melt before another.

"Sorry, I forgot. It's a habit now." Momo apologized, looking down and depressed, but I caught the faintest ghost of a triumphant smile on her face. I smiled. Regardless of how she appeared, Momo Hinamori was a girl knew exactly what she could do to Toshiro.

"Those two really are obvious, aren't they?" Tomoyo commented, surprising me a little.

I recovered. "Yeah, they are. How long have they been going at it?"

"Since the beginning. I knew them even before they entered the academy, seeing as my grandmother was close friends with their adopted grandmother." She looked at them fondly, but there was a twinge of sadness in her expression. "To me, they've always been like the siblings I've never had."

"… I see." I didn't really know what to say. I took another nibble at the sausage.

"Your cooking is excellent, by the way." I complimented her.

"Thank you." There was another bout of uncomfortable silence.

I looked around again. Captain Ichimaru and Captain Aizen were the only ones having a sane conversation, so I decided to listen in.

"It's been a while since things were this merry. Isn't that right, Captain Aizen?" The silver-haired captain was saying, taking a sip of his tea.

"I believe that you of all people would know the answer that question of yours, Captain Ichimaru." Aizen replied.

"So when do you think the next big trouble will arrive?"

"Somewhere in the next three months or so. A peaceful time like this doesn't normally last very long."

"My, my, so soon?" Captain Ichimaru lamented, yet in his smooth voice, it didn't sound very sincere. "Well, I'm sure we'll be very busy trying to put it out."

I bit on my fork. _Damn it, I'm out of sausage!_

Time to execute the plan. I reached over to Shuhei's plate and speared the last remaining sausage that I knew he was saving as the grand finalé of the dinner with my fork.

"Hey, that's MY sausage!" Shuhei spluttered immediately after he realized that he'd been robbed in broad nightlight. I lept back and was immediately on my feet, and shunpo-ed away from the table.

"In case I don't make it back alive, thanks for the meal!" I took a bite of the sausage and shunpo-ed off into the outdoors, with Shuhei hot on my heels.

"GIVE ME BACK MY SAUSAGE, ARAGAKI!" Shuhei yelled, also using shunpo in an attempt to catch up.

"No can do, Lieutenant! You've got to earn it like a man!" I took another bite of the delicious meat, and shunpo-ed upwards toward the roof and landed nicely on one foot before taking off with another shunpo.

_**Shiro, on your left!**_

I turned, only to see a speeding fist aimed for my head. I spun and ducked to my right, letting the arm fly over my shoulder while switching the fork from my left hand to my right, quickly working with the sleight of hand. In the nick of time, my free arm managed block the inevitable kick that came.

"That sausage is _mine_." He was pretty pissed, alright.

"Fine. You don't have to get so angry." I tossed the fork with the remains of the sausage speared on it to him. He caught it effortlessly and shot me a suspicious look before biting into one end. Almost immediately, his face was flushed red and his eyes began to water.

"W-water!" He gasped.

I couldn't help it. I broke into laughter. Shuhei couldn't take the pain anymore and shunpo-ed off to find some liquid that could relieve the pain, shouting vulgarities at me along the way.

"Very slick of you, Shiro." Tomoyo said, also laughing merrily. She had sneaked up here behind us, seeing as she had a crucial part in the plan.

"It was mostly you; that chilli roll of yours was perfectly identical to the sausage!" I said inbetween convulses of laughter. After the both of us calmed down, I produced the rest of the _real _sausage from the spaces between my fingers and popped one into my mouth. "You want some? It's still hot."

She took a piece of the sausage and observed it, frowning rather quizzically. "How'd you even slice it up so neatly without a knife?"

I shrugged. "Hado Number 4. Byakurai."

Her expression shifted from a confused one to an incredulous one. She couldn't help but laugh helplessly once again.

* * *

"I'll get the both of you next time. You'd better watch out." Shuhei threatened Tomoyo and I darkly.

Everyone at the table had had a good laugh when they saw _Lieutenant Hisagi_, who was normally stoic and serious, bursting in and begging for water. To top it all off, all of the teacups were already empty, and the only liquid in the room was saké. In the midst of desperation, Shuhei had forgotten that alcohol was bad for spicy foods. Really bad.

I don't think I need to continue.

"Whatever, Lieutenant, I doubt you'd be able to pull a fast one on either of us." I teased him rather unmercifully.

"He's got a point there." Aizen chuckled. Now I could see why he was so popular with everyone. He was soft-spoken and polite, and seemed to be prepared with an encouraging phrase for every situation. His visage was of a kind, bespectacled man who would always be willing to lend a helping hand.

"I think Lieutenant Hisagi might stand a chance. He just has to recruit the proper accomplices." Gin supplied, siding with Shuhei. "Maybe Yachiru or myself, if you want a sure-fire success, Shuhei."

"Or maybe Captain Ukitake! Whatever the captain does, it's done well!" Sentarou suggested from over the table. Of course, this led to another argument with Kiyone which I promptly decided to tune out from.

"Perhaps you'll need someone like me to distract him first!" Rangiku added.

I shook my head. "Rangiku, I already told you, you're not my type."

Shuhei's expression was beginning to sour. "When _did_ he tell you that you weren't his type?"

"Not important." Rangiku waved the question away. "On the matter at hand, why don't you ask Izuru to help you?" She turned to said lieutenant and pulled him closer with one arm. "I'm sure he'd be happy to help you. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, I would. Can you let go of me now, Rangiku? You're beginning to hurt my neck." He was promptly released and proceeded to massage himself on the affected areas.

"Maybe you can get Yosuke to help you." I decided to add oil over troubled waters, grinning at him.

Shuhei's face soured even further. "You think I can't do this by myself?"

Gin answered this question with his trademark grin. "Quite frankly, yes. Good luck trying though."

* * *

After the somewhat eventful dinner, I returned to the academy with a full stomach. Or rather, attempted to return to the academy. Simply put, I got lost.

I wandered around the Seireitei grounds for a while, once in a while asking from directions from the guards that were stationed every post.

_**Shiro, do you need my help?**_

_That would be nice._

_**Turn left.**_

I did as she instructed and discovered that I was in front of the 5th Division headquarters.

_**The academy isn't too far from here. I assume you remember more or less where you are now?**_

_You're in my mind, do you even have to ask?_

_**Fair point.**_

I walked past the 5th Division headquarters, heading southward. If my memory served me right, the 5th Division was due north of the Academy.

"I thought you were going to the 10th, not the 5th." A voice sounded from behind me. I allowed myself a smile and turned around.

"Nice to see you too, Ayame." I replied as she walked into the light of the nearby torch.

"Spill it, what're you doing here?" She frowned.

"I got lost on the way back."

"I see. Well, continue in the direction you were walking earlier and make a right." She instructed before walking off in the opposite direction of what she indicated.

"You're not going back to the Academy?" I asked.

"I have some things to do. I'll see you tomorrow or something." She replied.

"Want me to come along?" I asked.

She froze, as if she was considering whether to allow me to follow or not.

"No, it's a private matter. I'll see you tomorrow." She replied after a while with a tone of finality before beginning to move again.

"Alright then." Regardless of the curiosity that nagged my mind, I had to allow her her secrets, just as I have mine.

I walked off in solitude towards the academy.

* * *

I was about five minutes from the academy when I realized that something about the eerie silence of the night was off.

Instantly I spun and drew the asauchi that I was now allowed to keep with me. There was no one there, but my soul knew otherwise.

"Impressive senses, especially from one so new." I turned, only to look straight into the eyes of Captain Aizen.

"Captain Aizen. It's an honour meeting you out here." I sheathed my blade, and gave a slight bow.

"Hm." He nodded. "Did you hear anything suspicious before our encounter?"

"That depends on what you mean by suspicious, Captain." I replied.

"Anything at all, really. I believe there may be a traitor in the midst of the Soul Society, so I came out looking for him today." He enlightened me. "Of course, whatever I say to you now must be kept between us. We can't afford the risk of the traitor knowing that there are people searching for him."

"Of course, Captain Aizen." I nodded.

_A traitor in the Soul Society?_

_**It has happened before. And each time, the consequences were terrible. It led to multiple rebellions that spilled the blood of millions.**_

"I say this to you only because I know that you are not guilty of the crime and I require an extra eye. The evidence that the traitor even existed was detected about two months prior to your arrival. However, he is a slippery one, and still hasn't been found." The bespectacled Captain shook his head somewhat regretfully.

"I see." I replied. "So that's what you were discussing with Captain Ichimaru earlier?" I continued on to guess.

"You are a perceptive one. However, before I continue any further, I do need to ask this. Are you willing to help me, Shiro?" He asked, with an urgent tone of voice.

"Of course, Captain."

He sighed with relief. "That's good to hear." He looked seriously at me.

"Be aware that you should refrain from speaking of this to anyone." Captain Aizen warned. The look on the captain's face was a deadly one, as if the earlier kindness was just a mask for this expression. The flickering flames from the nearby torch lighted up his face, and in that particular moment of time, the Captain of the 5th Division looked simply awe-inspiring.

"I believe that…"

"Either Captain Ichimaru or Captain Hitsugaya is the traitor." The revelation stunned me completely.

_How...?_

* * *

_****__Closing Song: Saikou no Kataomoi - Tainaka Sachi_

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A/N: So how many of you saw that coming? I know I didn't since it wasn't exactly planned. I'm going with the flow, but I'm checking frequently to make sure I don't contradict myself or Bleach in general. As usual, I find this chapter rather messy as well, so tell me if certain parts ARE messy and I'll rewrite them.

**Reviews would be extremely appreciated. Yes, this is my 'killer sign-out phrase.' Do you like it? :P**


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